


Connections

by Rina9294



Category: Once a Thief (TV), SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron
Genre: Alternate Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-12-13
Updated: 2004-12-13
Packaged: 2019-02-05 15:22:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12797217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rina9294/pseuds/Rina9294
Summary: While on a case, Vic makes a new friend.





	1. First Contact

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Haven, the archivist: This story was originally archived at [Fandom Haven Story Archive (FHSA)](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Fandom_Haven_Story_Archive), was scheduled to shut down at the end of 2016. To preserve the archive, I began working with the OTW to transfer the stories to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. If you are this creator and the work hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Fandom Haven Story Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/fhsa/profile).

"Good afternoon, children."

 

The Director's husky greeting was punctuated by the slap of the red leather portfolio on the table in front of two of her favorite agents. "As Li Ann is still recovering from her bout with the flu, I have a gem of an assignment for the pair of you."

 

Victor Mansfield and Mac Ramsey both swallowed a groan and gave each other aside-long glance before turning their attention to their instructions - and wondering just how bad this one was going to be.

 

"Relax boys," the Director chuckled, leaning in between them and using the tip on one elegantly manicured fingernail to flip open the padded cover, revealing a photo of a man in his mid to late thirties. Dirty blond hair, eyes of an indiscriminate color, medium height, medium build, nothing about the picture's subject drew attention to him, but he had to be somewhat out of the ordinary otherwise why were they being briefed about him?

 

"This is Charles Kirkdon, computer expert, extortionist and overall unbalanced individual. We've been asked to look into his whereabouts due to a string of murders that have occurred over the past six months."

 

Vic picked up the folder and leafed through the background materials, noting the dates and causes of death for Kirkdon's alleged victims. "It looks as if he's been in operation a long time. Who'd he piss off enough to make us go after him?"

 

"My dear Victor," the Director smiled benignly, "it's not a matter of who, but a matter of why. It seems that Mr. Kirkdon enjoys spending his free time on the internet - in chat rooms to be precise. He has developed the habit of picking up strangers while online, seducing them and, after arranging to meet them in person, killing them. Unfortunately for him, the last victim he chose was an Agency employee, one I was rather fond of."

 

Eight murders in the past six months, all men, all killed by a single shot to the head. Eight men whose only connection was that they were lonely and chose to talk to the wrong person on the internet.

 

"But why?" Mac blurted, snatching the papers from Vic's hands and scanning down the neatly typed pages. The ex-cop growled a threat, but Mac was too engrossed in what he was reading to reply in kind. "What's the point in him killing them? It's not like those people could give out any information on him."

 

"It's not about information, it's about power. But then sex usually is about power in one form or another." As she spoke, the Director walked to the head of the table, her shapely legs flashing against the thigh-high slit in her tight black skirt. Placing her palms on the highly polished ebony, she leaned in, skewering the two men with her stare. "I want him stopped, gentlemen, and this is how you're going to do it..."

 

"I do not fucking believe this," Vic groused, pulling off his black leatherjacket and tossing it over the back of the chair next to the gunmetal gray desk. "How the hell am I supposed to find this guy online and talk him into coming onto me?"

 

"Just think of it like a big bar, Mansfield," Mac offered, giving the older man a lazy grin as he flipped open the laptop on the other desk and booted it up. "Unless you think you'll strike out in the cyber world as much as you do in the real one."

 

Victor threw himself into the chair and slapped the on button of his own laptop, scowling at the screen as the computer ran through its self-diagnostics. "Since you're such an expert on this, why don't you handle the trolling and I'll checkout the records. Considering that the people you talk to won't get to see you I bet you might con one or two of them into liking you - and if you want to be alone I can always leave the room."

 

Mac chuckled and shook his head, watching Vic's agitated movements out of the corner of his eye while pretending to be immersed in the program he had accessed. "Nope. She gave you the search and seduce job. I wouldn't feel right taking away your one chance to get laid this year."

 

"Mind telling me why you're so concerned about my sex life, Ramsey?" As he spoke, Vic half-turned in his seat and looked at his partner. At the best of times, Mac was irritating as hell but they got along. Lately the other man turned everything into a comment on his sex life - or lack there of. Okay, so maybe since his breakup with Li Ann he hadn't had much of one but it wasn't any of Ramsey's fucking business.

 

"Just don't want you getting all jittery on us, Vic," the younger man smiled, pulling a small device out of his coat and plugging it into the back of the computer. "I mean, come on, you're high strung enough as it is and to go as long as you have... It can't be good for the nerves."

 

The former cop's face twisted into an expression of disgust and his emerald eyes narrowed to thin slits as he struggled to rein in his temper. Letting Mac get to him would only give the younger man what he wanted and Vic wasn't about to allow that happen. "Grow up, Ramsey. Keeping score of who got what, when went out with high school. Oh, I forgot, that's where you should be considering your mentality." As he turned back to his own work, Vic couldn't resist one more comment. "And if she catches you spending your time downloading music instead of doing your work, you may be spending the rest of the evening pulling that little gadget out of your ass."

 

Mac waved one hand loftily in Vic's direction. "Tend to your own assignment and I'll deal with mine. If you want any pointers, give a yell and I'll lend a hand."

 

"Figures that you would be the king of cyber-sex."

 

"Keeps the fingers agile, Victor, and you never know when a bit of creative writing will come in handy."

 

"Always knew you were a sick bastard, Ramsey."

 

"Coming from you, Mansfield, I take that as a real complement."

 

"Prick."

 

"Bastard. Now that we've gotten that out of the way can we get to work?"

 

"That is what I was trying to do. Now will you shut up!"

 

"I will if you will." That rejoinder earned Mac a killer glare from the ex-cop and he laughed silently to himself before shifting in his chair to start digging up more information on the victims.

 

Two hours later Victor leaned back in his seat with a nearly inaudible groan and rubbed at his eyes. He was on his fifth site and had nothing to show for his efforts except the beginnings of a headache. His shoulders and neck hurt from the tense way he'd been sitting and his wrists were sore. This was such a fucking waste of time...

 

Apparently there was more to this cyber-chatting then met the eye. Conversations were typed faster then he could follow between people entering and leaving the room almost before he could tell who had been there to begin with. This was so much more Mac's bag than it was his. I'm a grunt and I admit it. Legwork, groundwork, those were his strengths and he knew it, but this, this skulking around in sleazy chatrooms... Oh yeah, much more Ramsey's style.

 

The ex-cop rubbed at his eyes again, hoping to ease the strain caused by staring at the computer monitor. In the brief moment he wasn't watching, a message box popped up in the upper corner of his screen.

 

CJiles? I don't know any CJiles. It wasn't one of the screen names they had listed for Kirkdon, he favored aliases that always contained some reference to color. 'Bluemrng' was the last one if Vic remembered correctly.

 

Wondering if it was Ramsey yanking his chain, Vic snuck a look over his shoulder, but the younger man seemed immersed in the music clips he was downloading and the chat records he was supposed to be screening.

 

Oh well, he was here to mingle, so replying couldn't hurt.

 

CJiles: Hi You the silent type or just like to watch the insanity in these places?

 

TrueBlue: No, just a bit overwhelmed. I'm sort of new at all this.

 

CJiles: We all were that way once. Anything I can help you with?

 

TrueBlue: No!

 

TrueBlue: I umm meant...

 

CJiles: Relax TB, I meant do you need any help deciphering the shorthand, not anything personal.

 

TB, what is he talking about? It took Vic a second before it hit him that he'd been given a nickname. Damn the Director for picking these stupid screen names anyway. Though it could be worse, he could be stuck with...

 

LghtFngrs: Hey Mansfield, you asleep over here? I've called your name three times!

 

"What? Finally tear yourself away from Eurotrash or whatever flash in the pan band you're listening to now?"

 

"Man, striking out puts you in a foul mood," Mac laughed. "Here's a summary of the last victim's chat sessions, the account has been closed down now of course, but the server has backups - if you know where to look." He dropped a disc on the desk beside Vic, angling to get a look at the screen at the same time. "Having fun?"

 

Vic slammed the lid of the laptop closed, almost catching his fingers in the process. "Yeah, sitting here watching a bunch of horny what-ever-they-ares getting off with each other is really my idea of a good time. I'm going to pack it in here in a few too. If he's out there tonight, it's not where I'm looking."

 

Mac's gaze cut from the cover of the computer to the flush that stained the back of his partner's neck and he struggled to hide a smirk. "You want sick? Try reading some of those logs I just gave you, it'll ruin your appetite for a month." The ex-thief grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and shrugged into it, giving a small shake to settle the lightweight fabric on his shoulders. "Must be why I have a craving for octopus all of a sudden..."

 

"Just get out of here, Ramsey!" Vic bellowed, hunching his shoulders and staring fixedly at the computer until he heard the door close and was sure his partner was gone. "Damn idiot, can't take this crap any more..." He was still muttering when he opened the laptop again and read the new messages that had popped up.

 

CJiles: TB? You there?

 

CJiles: Sorry, didn't mean to offend you, feel free to thwap me any time.

 

"Shit." Wondering why he felt bad about ignoring the other person, Vic keyed the touchpad and started to type.

 

TrueBlue: Sorry, something came up. Didn't mean to leave you hanging.

 

There was a pause of about five minutes and Vic began wondering if the other person was now ignoring him. When the soft tone announcing another message sounded, he couldn't help a smile of relief.

 

CJiles: Now it's my turn to apologize, was getting something to eat.

 

TrueBlue: You know, if we keep this up, we're going to be apologizing to each other all night.

 

CJiles: LOL! You're right, and there are better things to talk about then that.

 

TrueBlue: LOL?

 

CJiles: Man, you are fresh! That means laughing out loud. How did a newbie like you get in this chatroom anyway?

 

TrueBlue: Luck I guess. What about you? This your normal hangout?

 

CJiles: Not really. I was bored tonight and if nothing else, these rooms are always entertaining.

 

TrueBlue: I guess it might be if I could understand half of what was going on.

 

CJiles: My friend, it sounds as if you are in dire need of CJ's crash course in netiquette. If you have a spare hour or so I'd be glad to clear up some of the mysteries scrolling before your eyes.

 

Vic checked his watch. Nine o'clock. What the hell, an hour more wouldn't hurt and maybe this would help with the investigation.

 

CJiles: Hey TB, exactly what time is it where you are?

 

TrueBlue: Shit! 2 am. God, I'm going to be dead for work tomorrow - today.

 

CJiles: It's that time here too so I know the feeling.

 

TrueBlue: You should have said something instead of letting me rattle off my stupid questions all night long.

 

CJiles: Nah, they weren't stupid questions. Everybody was a newbie one upon a time and at least you have the sense to ask instead of jumping in and ending up pissing half the net off.

 

TrueBlue: Yeah, that's me, Mr. Considerate.

 

CJiles: *g*

 

CJiles: Well, I'd better get going. My boss is a serious bitch. She'll fry me if I doze off in her meeting in the morning.

 

TrueBlue: Something else we have in common. I wonder if your boss knows mine?

 

CJiles: Somehow I doubt it. Anyway, it was good talking to you, TB. Get some rest.

 

TrueBlue: Wait!

 

CJiles: ?

 

TrueBlue: I've got to be online a lot this week and...

 

CJiles: If you need any pointers just drop me an email or IM me, I'm usually on most nights after eight.

 

TrueBlue: Thanks, CJ. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.

 

CJiles: It's nothing, I'm glad I could help. :)

 

TrueBlue: Hey, it's more than a lot of people would have done, believe me.

 

CJiles: Whatever you say. Now go get some rest so I can too or both our bosses will really ream us come morning.

 

TrueBlue: You have no idea how true that is. Night.

 

Cjiles: Night, sleep well.

 

As Vic signed off and shut down the computer, he couldn't help but grin. Okay, maybe he'd had the wrong idea about the type of people who hung out online at all hours of the day and night. CJ had been genuinely interesting to talk to and, in between question and answer sessions, they'd discovered they had a lot in common.

 

Geeze, Mansfield you are so fucked up, he sighed to himself. You don't even know this guy's real name - or even if it is a guy or a girl or whatever! People can be anyone they want out there, that's how Kirkdon gets to his victims, by being who they want to see.

 

He stood and slung his jacket over his shoulder, then headed out the door, whistling softly as he walked down the silent hallway toward the exit. Maybe it all had been an act or a come on, but for the first time in longer then he cared to admit, Victor Mansfield had spent an enjoyable evening talking with an intelligent, witty companion. No arguing, no snide remarks, no waiting for the past to be thrown up in his face, just simply talking.

 

And he found that he liked it.


	2. See Ya Later

The moment the door to the Agency's headquarters shut behind him and Vic saw who was waiting for him, his good mood vanished, cut off as thoroughly as the spring morning had been by the layers of reinforced metal behind him.

 

The glare of the florescent lights shone off Dobrinsky's head, making the former cop wince and wish for his sunglasses. Three hours of sleep just didn't cut it when it came to dealing with the Director's assistant, even if the reason for staying up that late had been pleasant.

 

"What is it, Dobrinsky?" Vic sighed, starting to walk past the other man, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

 

"You're late. She isn't happy." The news was delivered with almost a maniacal glee.

 

"Five minutes and considering how late I was here last night, it could be a lot worse."

 

"Ahhh..." Dobrinsky smirked. "Enjoying the new assignment were you? The only thing that's saving your ass this morning is that Ramsey isn't here yet either."

 

"What do you mean Ramsey isn't here?" Mac asked as he pushed open the door, strolling inside, his sunglasses and a grin firmly in place. "You mean you've been waiting for me? I'm touched."

 

"In the head. Buck up, Ace. You and Mansfield had better get yourselves into the briefing room or I can't say what will happen. Might like to watch though."

 

"You would." Both Vic and Mac muttered the comment at the same time , then looked at each other and smiled, bonded by their desire to antagonize their common enemy.

 

"Well Victor, we'd better get going, wouldn't you say?"

 

"Definitely. Don't want to make things worse for us then they are already."

 

"Nah, I just don't want to give Dobie a show."

 

"And here I thought you were an exhibitionist at heart."

 

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Victor."

 

"Like what? I think I know more about you then I want to actually."

 

Mac tilted his head to look at Vic over the top of his sunglasses. "Like what I did last night after I left here."

 

The younger man's bloodshot eyes gave Vic a very good idea of what Mac had been up to and his lip curled in an expression of disgust. "Spare me the details, please."

 

"Sure you don't want to know? Might give you a little ammunition for tonight..." Mac grinned, pushing his glasses back up into place, rendering his dark eyes unreadable again.

 

"Thought the idea was to try to get this guy to pick me up, not to make him sick."

 

"Don't be too harsh on yourself, Victor. I'm sure he wouldn't become ill comparing you to me - just stick to your good points."

 

"Being?" the ex-cop asked dryly.

 

Mac rubbed at his chin a moment, pondering the question as they walked down the deserted hallways toward the briefing room. "Well... ummm... There's - no, that doesn't work. How about... No, not that either... You're loyal!"

 

"So is a dog."

 

"No go, eh? How about..."

 

"You have nice eyes and a gorgeous ass. An ass that should have been sitting in front of me fifteen minutes ago." The Director stood in the doorway in front of them, her petite form encased in a skin tight leather jumpsuit the particular purplish-red shade of arterial blood.

 

"What about me?" Mac whined, causing Vic to glance at the ceiling and shake his head. Only Ramsey would risk their boss's claws for a complement.

 

"You have a lovely ass too, Mac, but it would do for you to remember that I own it and that I do not like to be kept waiting for it's arrival!" The last was punctuated by the sharp blow of the riding crop the Director had concealed next to her leg against the younger agent's posterior as he passed her.

 

"Ow! What was that for?"

 

"To make a point. Now move, both of you."

 

Vic turned his face away from the other two when he sat and coughed into his fist, attempting to hide his amusement from them. If Mac had been the only one present then he wouldn't have bothered but considering that any reaction right now would probably earn him a whack as well - well, Vic really had no desire for that.

 

"Something amusing, my dear?" Vic jerked around and found himself face to face with the Director. The proximity was much too close to her teeth for his comfort, especially considering that the term 'man-eater' seemed designed just for her.

 

"No, I just had a late night and I was taught that yawning without covering your mouth wasn't polite." Ignoring Mac's mouthed 'Good one', Vic settled back into his seat, trying to ignore the harpy hanging over his right shoulder.

 

"So I heard." Straightening, the Director turned and strolled to the head of the table. "And did you both have a productive evening?"

 

Vic shot a quick glance at Mac who suddenly seemed very interested in the amount of shirt cuff showing under his jacket sleeve. "Not if you mean finding Kirkdon, we didn't. I did spend time in eight of the chatrooms he has frequented in the past, but no one there matched the profile of his online personality that we had."

 

"And you, Mr. Ramsey? How was your time spent?"

 

"From what I was able to recover from the logs, Kirkdon likes shy, insecure partners. He wants to be able to dictate each step of the relationship including where and when they finally meet."

 

For a moment, it looked as if the Director had the urge to pat both her agents on the head. "Good work boys - for the first night at least. That profile is exactly why I want Victor in the rooms."

 

Vic bristled at that and his mood wasn't helped when Mac gave him a sly grin. "So nice to know what you all think of me. If that was the case, why don't you put Nathan out there in the room? Kirkdon will be all over him in a second."

 

"Now really, could you see Nathan lasting more then five minutes in one of those places without proposing one of his theories. As much as I appreciate his skills, I also know his liabilities and I do not want to risk losing another Agency employee to this man. I want you both back out there tonight. Mac, you skim the rooms, trying to spot Kirkdon. Victor, talk to some of these people, see if any of them have any information."

 

"Gee, can't wait," Vic sighed, kicking Mac under the table when the younger man snickered to himself.

 

"Behave boys or I will make you do so. Now, get some rest, I want you fresh for tonight."

 

The two men remained silent until she had left the room, ascending the stairs that led to whatever realm of purgatory she occupied when not making their lives miserable.

 

"I vote for running this mission from the comforts of our own places. No point in sitting here all night when we can access the web as easily from home."

 

Vic started to disagree on principle, then he reconsidered. It would be easier to talk to his new friend if Mac wasn't there looking over his shoulder - and provided that CJ was online tonight. "It's not like she won't know what's going on anyway, probably has taps into everything we do there."

 

The fact that the Agency routinely bugged their apartments with mikes and cameras was something of a joke and Vic, Mac and Li Ann at times placed bets on who could find the most hidden devices in an evening's time. So far Mac held the record with twelve, including one camera hidden in the light over his stove.

 

"Better watch what you say then," Mac chuckled as he stood, rubbing at the spot the Director had hit earlier. "Or you may be the next one she swats."

 

"I'm not the one who was out partying when they should have been working, remember?"

 

"And thank you for covering for me." The ex-thief's teeth flashed as he grinned. "Let me know if you want me to do the same one night. I'm sure I can pass myself off as you online."

 

Vic slid out of his seat, shaking his head at his partner's cocky arrogance. What had Li Ann ever seen in him? It was impossible to hold a serious conversation with the man. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't want to get the reputation out there as being easy."

 

"Ooo, good one. I'm wounded." Mac tipped his glasses down and gave Vic what would have been a very effective pout if the older man hadn't known it was fake. "Does that mean you don't respect me any more?"

 

"No." Vic waited until Mac's expression changed to a pleased smile, then swooped in for the kill. "That would mean that I respected you to begin with." The change in the younger man's expression was immediate and pronounced and Victor almost felt sorry for him. "See ya later tonight, Mac. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone." With that, the former cop strolled out of the dark room, heading for home and the nap he knew he was going to need if he was going to make it through the night.

 

TrueBlue: Any luck so far?

 

LghtFngrs: No, the man is still laying low as far as I can tell. Anything interesting going on where you are?

 

TrueBlue: Gee, do you want to hear about the guy who says that he is Tom Cruise's double and is trying to pick up anything in sight or the size queen who keeps asking for everyone's measurements?"

 

LghtFngrs: Better then the crap I'm reading.

 

TrueBlue: What crap?

 

LghtFnrgs: Don't ask, I think it would offend your innocent eyes if I typed it on the screen. Just be glad that he's not in this room.

 

TrueBlue: C'mon Ramsey, you going to tell me something I didn't see when I worked vice? I doubt it.

 

LghtFngrs: Am not in that room any more anyway. Off to the vanilla side for a while, don't need to warp my young mind.

 

TrueBlue: Too late for that.

 

LghtFngrs: Aww, I didn't know you cared.

 

TrueBlue: I don't. Warp your mind all you want, it might do you some good.

 

LghtFngrs: Hmmm, maybe I should send you to that room anyway...

 

Vic was about to reply when a new arrival in the room he was scanning caught his eye and he found himself sitting up on the couch and grinning. He brought up a message box, then paused, wondering if he should do this. The uncertainty was compounded when he saw that CJ was greeted as an old friend by quite a few of the others in the room.

 

Maybe he just tries to come on to people that way, maybe I should just forget it, maybe... The thought was interrupted by first a personal greeting in the room and then an IM.

 

CJiles: TB! Glad to see ya man. I was hoping I'd catch you on tonight.

 

TrueBlue: Same here, CJ. I can't believe some of the people in here!

 

CJiles: Yeah, has FlvrMvn given you his old 'tell me how big you are and I might play with you' routine?

 

TrueBlue: Oh yeah, I think he got the message when I told him that if he had to ask he really didn't want to know.

 

CJiles: Good comeback So, did you survive work today?

 

TrueBlue: Barely. Ended up a little late to my morning meeting and the boss almost chewed my ass off for it.

 

CJiles: Ouch! I'd offer to kiss it better for you but I don't want you to think I'm that kind of guy.

 

TrueBlue: If she had done it I might be tempted to take you up on it.

 

LghtFngrs: Victor... Oh Veek-tor... I've got another room for you to try. Say goodbye to your friends and come along.

 

Vic cursed under his breath, wondering at Mac's timing.

 

TrueBlue: Look, can it hold on a minute? I want to check something out here.

 

LghtFngrs: ::shrug:: Your neck, man. Someone there catch your eye?

 

TrueBlue: Just keep on looking Ramsey, okay?

 

CJiles: Good thing for both of us then that she didn't or who knows what might happen ;)

 

LghtFnrgs: All right but just consider this payment for what you did last night.

 

TrueBlue: All right, all right!

 

TrueBlue: If she had I'd be going for rabies shots as we speak.

 

CJiles: All right what?

 

LghtFngrs: Huh? If who had what and why would you be needing rabies shots?

 

Looking back at the messages, Vic lowered his forehead into his hands and groaned. Thank God there was nothing strange in either message - well, really strange any way.

 

TrueBlue: Sorry CJ, this annoying person keeps bothering me and I was trying to get him off my back.

 

TrueBlue: I was... Don't worry about it, Mac, just let me know if you think you've found him.

 

CJiles: Do you know how to block idiots like that?

 

LghtFngrs: I read and obey, Master ::snicker::

 

TrueBlue: Just did it. So what about you, survive the morning?

 

CJiles: Barely, I did get lucky though, boss left early so I skipped out and came home to take a nap. Amazing what a few hours sleep will do to your outlook on life.

 

TrueBlue: I hope you don't get in trouble over that. I'm really sorry I kept you up that late last night.

 

CJiles: Hey, you apologize again and I'm going to have to thwap you. It was my pleasure, really! I'll crash come the weekend so it all evens out.

 

TrueBlue: Are you sure?

 

CJiles: I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it.

 

TrueBlue: Sorry, guess I'm not used to taking people at their word.

 

CJiles: Life been that bad to you?

 

CJiles: And I told you I'd do this if you apologized again.

 

TrueBlue: Hey! No hitting!

 

TrueBlue: And - well, let's just say I've had a few bad experiences.

 

CJiles: Sorry to hear that, but don't let a couple of jerks ruin you for everyone.

 

TrueBlue: I know, it's just...

 

CJiles: Just what?

 

CJiles: Or say 'CJ shut up' if I'm prying too much.

 

TrueBlue: No, it's not that, I guess it's that after a while you don't trust your own judgment in things like that any longer.

 

CJiles: Things like what?

 

TrueBlue: Personal relationships. You could say I have a history of failures in them.

 

CJiles: Everyone has a heartache or two in their background. I think it makes you appreciate the right person more when they come along.

 

TrueBlue: But what if they never do? Or what if you're looking in the wrong place when they show up?

 

CJiles: But what if you aren't?

 

BlackWatch: Hi there. Pretty quiet in here tonight.

 

LghtFngrs: Yeah, it is. Is it always like this?

 

BlackWatch: No, it varies. Don't think I've seen you in here before.

 

LghtFngrs: First time I've found my way in, got any tips for a newcomer?

 

BlackWatch: Sure, I'm always glad to help. With that and anything else you might need.


	3. Close Calls

To: TrueBlue@yahoo.com

From: CJiles@hotmail.com

Subject: Try these out 

 

Okay man, you asked for it, here it is. I've attached a couple of wav files of songs I like - don't say I didn't warn you! 

 

Let me know what you think. It won't change my opinion of what I like, but I'm interested in hearing your side - and convincing you you're wrong *g*. 

 

Catch you tonight, 

 

CJ

 

To: CJiles@hotmail.com

From: TrueBlue@yahoo.com

Subject: Re: Try these out 

 

You didn't warn me. 

 

*g* 

 

Hmmm... You know, I know someone who shares your taste in music though his is even more out there. Seriously though, I did like the second song even though half of it was in... What language was that anyway? 

 

I'm going to have to send you some real music tonight, can't do it from this computer - Big Sister watching and all that. 

 

TB

 

To: TrueBlue@yahoo.com

From: CJiles@hotmail.com

Subject: Re: Try these out 

 

Brat. 

 

That one song was in Danish, I can send you a link to the band's website if you want to know more about them. *g* 

 

Hope the boss isn't riding your ass too much. 

 

CJ

 

To: CJiles@hotmail.com

From: TrueBlue@yahoo.com

Subject: Re: Try these out 

 

It's a constant state of affairs around here I'm used to it by now. 

 

Speaking of her, I've got a meeting to get to that will probably take up most of the day so I won't be checking mail. Catch you tonight though! 

 

TB

 

To: TrueBlue@yahoo.com

From: CJiles@hotmail.com

Subject: Re: Try these out 

 

I know you probably won't read this until later but... 

 

i'm looking forward to it :) 

 

CB

 

BlackWatch: What did you think of that link I sent you?

 

LghtFngrs: It was very umm - interesting.

 

BlackWatch: Just interesting? I was hoping it would give you some ideas.

 

LghtFngrs: What kind of ideas?

 

BlackWatch: If you have to ask that, then you aren't ready to hear them yet, babe.

 

LghtFngrs: I think I am. I'm not as innocent as you seem to think I am.

 

BlackWatch: And how many shades of red did you turn when you looked at that site?

 

LghtFngrs: Well... It was a little graphic.

 

BlackWatch: That was the point. How did looking at it make you feel?

 

LghtFngrs: What is this, twenty questions? How did you think it made me feel!

 

BlackWatch: I don't know, that's why I'm asking. If you don't want to talk about it I might as well go.

 

LghtFngrs: Wait!

 

LghtFngrs: I'm sorry. It's just embarrassing, okay?

 

BlackWatch: Why? It's a natural reaction.

 

LghtFngrs: Also a very frustrating one.

 

BlackWatch: I'd be glad to help with that if you want.

 

LghtFngrs: What do you mean?

 

BlackWatch: There's no need for you to feel frustrated.

 

LghtFngrs: It's sort of hard not to when...

 

BlackWatch: When what? If you're going to say when you're alone, I can understand where you're coming from. But there's no need to be, not if you don't want to be.

 

LghtFngrs: Why would anyone want to be alone?

 

BlackWatch: My point exactly.

 

LghtFngrs: So you're offering to - to

 

BlackWatch: Lead you through the steps? I said that first night I'm always glad to help.

 

LghtFngrs: I guess I'm a little nervous about this.

 

BlackWatch: No need to be. Just follow my lead and I'll make sure you have a good time.

 

LghtFngrs: You know, I'm really lucky that you found me that night. I'd be lost without you, I really would.

 

BlackWatch: My pleasure. And, if I can get you to stay on the subject, yours too.

 

LghtFngrs: Sorry! I - I know I said I'm nervous, I just don't want to mess up.

 

BlackWatch: You won't, just relax and let it come naturally. Think of what you enjoy and go from there.

 

LghtFngrs: Relax. Okay. ::deep breath:: Ready when you are.

 

BlackWatch: Oh, I've been ready...

 

"It's been two weeks. Two weeks, gentlemen. And what do we have to show for it?"

 

"A lot of new bookmarks?" Mac flinched as the Director's nails dug into his shoulder and shot an appealing look at both his partners.

 

"How is it our fault if this nutcase has gone underground?" Now Vic was treated to the same grip, though his jacket did blunt the dagger sharp tips a bit.

 

"Oh, I don't know... Perhaps because neither of you seem to be taking this case as seriously as you should be? I have half a mind to start fresh with Li Ann as the bait."

 

"I thought you said that he only targeted men?" At the Director's amused glance, Li Ann shook her head, her jaw settling into a stubborn line. "No. Just because you dressed me up as a man that one night does not mean I want to pretend to be one on the computer."

 

The two men avoided looking at each other out of self-preservation, not wanting to laugh, but even so their boss rounded on them. "At this juncture, I'm willing to bet that Li Ann would do a better job then either of you. I would be pleasantly surprised if you proved me wrong by finding Mr. Kirkdon soon - as in within the next three days."

 

The Director released her grip on Mac and Victor, then casually examined her manicure. "Failure to do so will only prove to me once again that Ms. Tsei has more balls then either of you." Giving a small, Cheshire cat smile at the duplicate expressions of outraged shock on her male agents' faces, the Director executed a perfect runway turn and strolled up the stairs to her private abode.

 

"You heard her boys," Li Ann said, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice. "Get to work. Don't make me prove that I'm more of a man then you are."

 

"Damn," Mac breathed after their former fiancée had left the dimly lit conference room. "Yours still attached?"

 

"Barely," Vic sighed, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. The idea of their boss coming anywhere near his balls was enough to make them shrink faster then the coldest shower. "Are you sure that you haven't seen any sign of Kirkdon in all your travels around the web?"

 

Mac's lower lip pushed out in a very creditable pout. "Do you think I like spending my nights watching that stuff? If I could find him, I'd have you on him in a minute just to get my social life back!"

 

"Toronto's female population must be in mourning."

 

"Haven't you noticed all the women in black you see lately?"

 

"Huh. Thought those were the ones who had gone out with you already, mourning the death of their illusions."

 

"Love you too, babe," Mac chuckled as he stood and headed for the door. "And don't worry, maybe tonight will be your lucky night."

 

Vic smiled at that. "It just might be, you never know."

 

TrueBlue: That woman drives me insane! There are times I just want to walk out of there.

 

CJiles: If it's that bad, why don't you?

 

TrueBlue: It's not that easy.

 

CJiles: Career position?

 

TrueBlue: You could call it that, though I'm not sure about the retirement benefits.

 

CJiles: Don't stress it then. You're going to give yourself an ulcer at this rate.

 

TrueBlue: Not if I keep venting to you like this. Thanks for letting me bitch about it all.

 

CJiles: If it keeps you from tearing your hair out over it, I consider it time well spent.

 

TrueBlue: How do you know I have any hair to begin with?

 

CJiles: Is that your way of telling me that you're bald?

 

TrueBlue: Would it matter if I was?

 

CJiles: No... Could be fun actually.

 

TrueBlue: Well I'm not - bald that is.

 

CJiles: Awww, ruin my fantasies why don't you!

 

TrueBlue: CJ, you are one weird guy.

 

CJiles: Thank you

 

TrueBlue: So what do you suggest I do - to relax I mean.

 

CJiles: If I'm that tense, I like to go dancing.

 

TrueBlue: To that stuff you sent me before? Sorry man, but I can't see that calming me down any.

 

CJiles: That's for fun. If I want to chill, I go for something slower.

 

TrueBlue: Like what?

 

CJiles: Hang on.

 

TrueBlue: Hanging...

 

Knowing that it would be a few minutes before CJ's computer was free again, Victor sat up on the couch and stretched before setting his laptop on the coffee table. "I should be frightened if he's sending me more music..." he chuckled, deciding that another beer might be a good idea at this point.

 

Over the past two weeks, the ex-cop had learned a lot about his new friend and, in turn, had told him more about himself and his past then most people were aware of after years of knowing him. Maybe it was the fact that communicating like this was both impersonal and more intimate then talking in person, but for whatever reason, Vic had come to look forward to his nightly conversations with CJ as the high point of his day.

 

After popping the top off the bottle of beer, he settled back onto the couch and dragged the small computer back onto his lap, propping his bare feet up on the low table in front of him. Mac hadn't checked in yet, but he knew his partner was online, trolling various chatrooms in search of their target. Victor felt vaguely guilty over the fact that he wasn't doing more to help in the investigation, but there really wasn't much he could do until Ramsey flushed out their quarry.

 

And until then, he'd enjoy the time he did have.

 

CJiles: YGM

 

TrueBlue: What is it?

 

CJiles: What I like to dance to.

 

TrueBlue: Hang on, let me download the file.

 

CJiles: Hanging...

 

TrueBlue: Haha

 

CJiles: Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

TrueBlue: Try ;)

 

CJiles: Nah, what fun would that be?

 

TrueBlue: Not as much as teasing me I'm sure.

 

CJiles: Exactly

 

A few keystrokes extracted the compressed file and brought up the media bar, opening the new file. It was a song Vic had heard before, in fact, he doubted there were very few people who hadn't heard it considering that it had been on every radio and video station a couple of years ago. Then, it had merely been a bit of background music, part of a soundtrack about angels in Los Angeles, and he really hadn't paid much attention to it but now...

 

And I don't want the world to see me 

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand 

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

 

It seemed an odd choice for a slow song to dance to, but when Vic closed his eyes and listened to the longing-filled lyrics, all he could imagine was hearing to it while swaying to the back beat, his arms wound around CJ's waist.

 

TrueBlue: Now this one I like.

 

CJiles: I'm scared. We agree on something musical.

 

TrueBlue: Might be the only time it happens, we should celebrate.

 

CJiles: Wanna dance?

 

TrueBlue: With you?

 

CJiles: No, with your boss . You said we should celebrate, and this would relax you too.

 

TrueBlue: How?

 

CJiles: Hopefully it will get you thinking about something other then your work for a while!

 

TrueBlue: No, I didn't mean how will it relax me, I meant how would we do that?

 

CJiles: Imagination and good timing. Any particular setting you'd like?

 

Vic took a quick swallow of his drink, hoping it would calm the sudden racing of his heart. It's just fiction, it's not real. But then why was he aching with the need to let go and allow this fantasy to run its course?

 

TrueBlue: A summer night, outside, on a deck overlooking a lake.

 

CJiles: Mmm, nice choice. When I give you the word, count down five seconds and start the song. Don't worry about saying anything, just think about it.

 

TrueBlue: Okay. Umm, CJ?

 

CJiles: You sure you're okay with this?

 

TrueBlue: Yeah, I was just wondering how tall you were?

 

CJiles: 6'3", what about you?

 

TrueBlue: 6'

 

CJiles: Looks like you get to use my shoulder then, if you want.

 

TrueBlue: I - I'd like that.

 

CJiles: Me too. Give me a second, okay?

 

TrueBlue: Okay.

 

CJiles: It's one of those perfect summer nights that only seem to happen in books or movies. The sun's been down for a few hours, taking with it the heat of the day, but leaving just enough of a reminder that the breeze off the water is a welcome contrast. There's not much light out here, just a few candles set around the railing, though with the brilliant stars overhead we really don't need it. Aside from the quiet lapping of the waves and the calls of the nocturnal animals, the only other sound is the soft music of the stereo. The song changes and it's the most natural thing in the world to take you in my arms and sway to the beat.

 

After counting down five seconds, Vic started the song again. Closing his eyes, he leaned back against the arm of the couch and let his imagination roam. It was all so clear, the worn planking under his feet, the gentle scent of new mown grass on the breeze, the soft lapping of the water behind him. Most clear, however, was the feel of the man in his arms.

 

Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around his torso, mentally replacing the feel of his t-shirt with that of raw silk covering hard, lean body. The song's poignant lyrics drifted through the air, and Victor relaxed fully against his partner, rubbing his face against CJ's neck, acutely aware of the answering tightening of the other man's arms.

 

BlackWatch: God babe, you are amazing.

 

LghtFngrs: That was - wow. It gets better every time.

 

BlackWatch: It could be even better, you know.

 

LghtFngrs: I don't see how!

 

BlackWatch: We could cut out the middle man, I'd really like to meet you.

 

LghtFngrs: I - umm - I don't know if that's a good idea.

 

BlackWatch: What? I'm good enough to do like this but not in person?

 

LghtFngrs: No! No, I didn't mean that, I just don't want you to be disappointed or anything.

 

BlackWatch: We know what we both like babe, how could you disappoint me? Just think about how good it would feel if it was real.

 

LghtFngrs: If it felt any better I might die.

 

BlackWatch: And dying from pleasure is a bad thing? ;)

 

LghtFngrs: Guess there are worse ways to go...

 

BlackWatch: So, when do you want to get together? You free tomorrow?

 

LghtFngrs: Shit. I have to work.

 

BlackWatch: Another time then, unless you can call in sick.

 

LghtFngrs: I guess I could see if someone could cover for me. Can I let you know?

 

BlackWatch: Sure, babe. If not, we can always get in a little more practice.

 

LghtFngrs: I like practicing with you, the way you make me feel...

 

BlackWatch: It's pretty good for me too. As a matter of fact, all this talk about it is really getting to me, babe. Wanna have another go 'round?

 

LghtFngrs: ::laughing:: You're gonna kill me!

 

BlackWatch: Not tonight, baby.

 

The song ended and Vic opened his eyes, feeling bereft when he saw not the world of his fantasy, but his own familiar apartment. God, I'm falling for him and I don't even know him.

 

TrueBlue: CJ?

 

CJiles: Yeah?

 

TrueBlue: Would you do something for me?

 

CJiles: Of course, what do you need?

 

TrueBlue: Kiss me.

 

CJiles: Oh god. Are you sure about this?

 

TrueBlue: Very sure. C'mon, CJ. The song's over, we're still standing there, I'm looking up at you, can't you see how much I want it?

 

CJiles: Yeah, I can. Almost as much as I do. Your eyes... I look in them and I'm lost. You told me that they were green, but not that they looked like the depths of a shadowed forest, one I want to stay in forever. My hand slides up to the back of your neck, feathering through your hair, as I lean in, giving you time to back off it you want to.

 

TrueBlue: I know why you're going slow, and decide to take things into my own hands. Lunging up, I close my mouth on yours, tasting your lips for the first time, demanding your response by letting you feel mine.

 

CJiles: So good, just like I thought... Fuck. TB, we need to stop or I'm not going to be able to.

 

TrueBlue: So don't, why do you want to anyway?

 

CJiles: You're not making this easy.

 

TrueBlue: Good, I want to make it as hard as possible.

 

CJiles: You're too much. I like you too much. That's why I just don't want to be - shit, how to say this?

 

TrueBlue: You're just not interested?

 

CJiles: No! God no! I'm too interested! I want more then just my imagination. I want...

 

TrueBlue: What?

 

CJiles: I'd really like to meet you.

 

TrueBlue: Okay, when and where?

 

CJiles: You're going to agree that easily? You don't even know me.

 

TrueBlue: You're wrong. I trust my instincts and they tell me that I do. When and where?

 

TrueBlue: CJ? Am I pushing too much?

 

CJiles: No, I'm just trying to believe this and wondering if I should have asked sooner.

 

TrueBlue: Don't worry about it, now are you going to think of somewhere or should I?

 

CJiles: How about coffee at the Starbucks at the corner of College and Spadina? That way we can talk some and see what happens.

 

TrueBlue: Why do I feel like you're trying to protect me? CJiles: Because I am?

 

TrueBlue: I'm a big boy, CJ. I can take care of myself.

 

CJiles: Never said you couldn't, TB. I just don't want to do the wrong thing here so I'd rather go slow.

 

TrueBlue: Well just remember, if you go too slow, I'm going to have to grab you and drag you along.

 

CJiles: And I bet you would too. I'll send you a mail tomorrow with the details, okay?

 

TrueBlue: I'll be looking forward to it. And CJ?

 

CJiles: Hmm?

 

TrueBlue: I can't wait.

 

CJiles: Just hope you feel like that after tomorrow.

 

TrueBlue: Why would you say that?

 

CJiles: No reason. Now go get some sleep so your boss doesn't eat you.

 

TrueBlue: Yes sir Get some rest yourself.

 

CJiles: I'll try anyway, not sure how well it will work now.

 

TrueBlue: Go. To. Sleep!

 

CJiles: Okay, okay. Night.

 

TrueBlue: See you tomorrow.

 

CJiles: I can't wait.


	4. Disconnected

Victor closed his laptop, then leaned back on the couch, threading his fingers through his hair and staring at the ceiling, considering the wisdom of what he had just done. Tomorrow at six o'clock he was going to meet CJ. Shit, he didn't even know if that was the other man's real name or not. Of course, CJ had never asked his real name either so they were even in that regard.

 

As he studied the white paint above him, Vic contemplated what he did know about the other man, trying to understand why he liked him and, more importantly, was attracted to him. People could be anyone or anything they chose to on the 'net, that was one of the things Mac told him back when they started this whole thing. There were predators out there, like Kirkdon, people who said whatever you wanted to hear just so they could get what they wanted.

 

Wondering if he was being naive or just plain stupid, Vic slumped forward, resting one elbow on his thighs, continuing to card his other hand through his hair. No. He wasn't that bad a judge of character, he couldn't be. Maybe he had no way yet of knowing if the other man had described himself accurately, but by tomorrow evening that would be resolved. At this point, Vic didn't care if CJ was short, with red hair and blue eyes or tall, with brown hair and eyes like he'd described himself. He wanted to talk to the guy. In person. Wanted to be able to look at him when they spoke, not at the damn computer screen.

 

The material of his sweatpants where the laptop had rested was warm and Victor idly rubbed his hand over the spot, letting his fingers trail over the inside of his thigh. Even though the dance had been all in his mind, it had still aroused him and the kiss...

 

With a soft groan, Vic leaned back once again, closing his eyes and replaying the moment, his palm sliding upward to brush against the growing bulge under the navy cotton. The touch was light enough that it could have been the press of CJ's legs against his as they moved together. Giving himself more fully to the fantasy, Victor arched upward into his palm, his other hand locked around the back of his neck as he envisioned the dance turning slower and more sensual, rocking his body against that of his partner.

 

His fingers slid beneath the soft fabric, stroking his erection, experimenting with different touches, trying to guess what CJ's hands would feel like on his bare skin. Vic rolled his hips in a slow counterpart to his explorations, arching his shaft harder into his palm, then relaxing as if in surrender. From the flared head, already damp with pre-cum to the lightly furred balls, he mapped his cock, exploring the hot, velvety skin as if touching it for the first time.

 

Need coiled deep within the ex-cop, and he emitted a hoarse gasp, his short fingernails digging into the skin at the nape of his neck as he closed his fist over his straining erection. Keeping his strokes long and slow for now, Vic bucked upward off the couch, begging with barely audible whimpers for his imaginary lover to let him come.

 

"Fuck yes, there, god... " The words spilled from Victor's lips without thought and his whole body spasmed, his hand tightening almost painfully on his engorged cock as he came, groaning CJ's name as liquid heat splattered his abdomen, soaking his sweats and the tee shirt he wore.

 

Unable to move, Vic sat sprawled out on the couch, still stroking himself lightly, until his breathing evened out and the thundering of his pulse slowed to something closer to normal. Grimacing slightly at the now cool dampness that coated his stomach, Victor skinned off his shirt and wiped himself down before heaving himself to his feet, heading for a hot shower and his bed.

 

Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.

 

From: TrueBlue@yahoo.com

To: CJiles@hotmail.com

Subject: Quick question

 

That Starbucks can get pretty busy, how am I going to know who you are? I don't want to miss you by mistake.

 

TB

 

PS - Did you manage to get any sleep last night?

 

To: TrueBlue@yahoo.com

From: CJiles@hotmail.com

Subject: Re: Quick Question

 

You think I'd let you miss me? I'd quiz everyone in the damn place until I found you . Seriously, I'll have on black pants, a gray shirt and, if all else fails, listen for the call for the triple shot almond cappuccino, doubt anyone else is insane enough to drink that.

 

And if you want the truth, no I didn't get any sleep last night. Between thinking about today and what went on last night, I think that's a given - but I promise not to fall asleep on you.

 

CJ

 

From: TrueBlue@yahoo.com

To: CJiles@hotmail.com

Subject: Re: Quick question

 

If you do fall asleep on me, I'll roll you over and poke you in the side to wake you up.

 

God I can't believe I said that. You're a bad influence on me, did you know that? I'm not normally so relaxed with people.

 

I'll be the one with the jeans, green shirt and black leather jacket drinking black coffee Looks like you're the high maintenance one when it comes to drinks anyway, guess we'll see about the rest.

 

Can't wait.

 

TB

 

To: TrueBlue@yahoo.com

From: CJiles@hotmail.com

Subject: Re: Quick Question

 

High maintenance???

 

I should be offended, but instead I'll just ask you this:

 

Just what would you poke me with after you rolled me over?

 

And I've been known to be a bad influence, it's one of my better qualities, so I'm looking forward to getting you to relax even more. It sounds like you have enough stress in your life.

 

I can't wait either, see you in a few hours.

 

CJ

 

"Something is going on."

 

Dobrinsky looked up from his briefing reports. The Director was tapping her upper lip with her index finger and her expression was one of bemused interest. "With whom?" he asked. The single arched eyebrow told him everything he needed to know. "Ramsey and Mansfield."

 

"I can't put my finger on it, but both my boys are in good moods today. Too good considering they aren't getting anywhere on their assignment. I want to know why. Get Nathan to find out just what they have been doing with their time."

 

"I'm on it." Smirking slightly, Dobrinsky tossed the papers he had been reading back on his desk and went in search of the neurotic researcher.

 

"Boys, boys, boys," the Director sighed, shaking her head slowly. "If you've been playing when you should have been working you are going to regret it."

 

Parking in downtown Toronto was never an easy commodity to come by, a fact that was especially true around rush hour. Growling a curse at a rollerblader who darted in front of him as if he owned the road, Victor scanned the side streets for empty spaces. The luminous numbers of the clock on the dash counted down the ever dwindling minutes until six o'clock and every time they changed, he felt his nerves crank up another notch.

 

At this rate, he was going to have to backtrack and park in one of the public lots and that was going to make him late. That thought made the ex-cop grimace. The last thing he wanted to do was to miss CJ in passing, especially because of a damn parking space.

 

The afternoon had passed with hellish slowness, with every attempt to work or distract himself ending in miserable failure. He'd spoken to Li Ann, but she seemed distracted by some project the Director had her working on and the conversation had been short. Even Mac hadn't been around, leaving Vic to wonder just what his partner was into now.

 

The thought that he really couldn't cast stones at the younger man since he certainly wasn't working flitted across Victor's conscience, but he pushed away the regret for the moment. Tomorrow I'll get back to work on the case. It'll be easier then, I won't be so distracted.

 

Whatever god looked out for secret agent ex-cops must have been smiling, because at that instant a tan mini van pulled out of a spot just in front of him. Vic shouted in triumph, then whipped the truck into the space, parallel parking with a minimum of fuss. A quick check of his hair in the rearview mirror, a deep breath, and he was on the street, locking the door and setting the alarm before starting toward the coffee bar, hoping he didn't look as nervous as he felt.

 

"You are not going to believe this."

 

"Tell me anyway."

 

"It seems that one of them has been talking to someone we think is Kirkdon, it's just not Mansfield."

 

"Mac has been talking to Kirkdon? Why do I feel that this isn't all you have to tell me?"

 

"What's interesting is just who Victor has been chatting with."

 

The Director scanned the printouts that Dobrinsky handed her, her nails drumming a rapid tattoo on the mahogany of her desk. . Her fingers stilled, and the silence that filled the cool air was ominous. "Get them in here. Now."

 

Victor waited. Habit had him take a seat off to the side of the long thin room where he could see both entrances. He sat, white and green paper cup in hand, ignoring the fragrant steam that drifted from the hot beverage. A quick glance at his watch showed that a whole fifteen seconds had passed since his last look.

 

There were plenty of people here, just none wearing the right color combination. God if this was a set up I am so screwed. Vic may have hid it well, but between his experience with his fellow narcotics officers and Li Ann's 'postponement' of their engagement, he had lost some of his trust in his judgment when it came to those around him. If CJ didn't show... Victor shook his head, not allowing himself to start in that line of destructive thinking.

 

Forcing himself not to look at his watch again, Vic lifted his cup to his lips, then almost poured the hot brew all over himself when a pair of hands came down over his eyes, cutting off his vision. "Guess who?"

 

Jerking the hands from around his head, Vic turned and glared up at his grinning partner. "Mac, what the fuck are you doing here?"

 

The younger man shrugged, spun an empty chair around and sat straddling it, his elbows leaning on the slatted wooden back. "Didn't know it was against the law for me to drink coffee," he chuckled. "Or was that one of the Director's new dictums that I somehow missed? You know, 'Mac Ramsey is not allowed to consume caffeine anywhere within the province of Ontario on punishment of death'."

 

"Works for me." Vic looked toward the door, praying that no one would come in while Mac was here, it was a situation that he didn't want to have to explain, not now anyway. "Better get out while you can, or she'll sic Jackie on you."

 

Mac actually looked nauseous at that suggestion. "Gee thanks, care to bring in a few jackals to gnaw at my bones while you're at it?"

 

Victor found himself grinning at that. Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing, as long as he could get rid of Mac before CJ arrived. At least the other man was giving him something to think about other then his 'blind date'. "Sure, I'll invite the Cleaners too if you want, might as well make it a party."

 

"Victor, Victor, Victor," Mac sighed. "That is so not my style." He started to say more, but was interrupted by the counter worker. "There's my drink, I'm outta here. Oh, I think I have a lead on Kirkdon, I'll tell you about it tonight."

 

"Yeah, okay... " Vic barely noticed when Mac stood and left the table for among the beverages called had been a triple shot almond cappuccino. This was it. The nervous tremor in his belly grew to include his hand and Victor set his drink on the table so as not to spill it, his gaze riveted to the part of the counter where people picked up their coffee.

 

There was Mac, a woman, an older couple, and another man up there. Vic shifted to the edge of his seat, chewing on the inside of his lower lip, watching as the tall, brown haired man collected his drink and turned, but then walked out of the café without a second glance anywhere around him. That only left...

 

The skin around his eyes tightening as he winced, Vic looked back to the counter, his expression changing to one of fury as he studied the single person left there. Brown hair, brown eyes, black linen pants, gray raw silk shirt, peering over the top of his sunglasses with the same hopeful puppy dog grin he wore whenever he was trying to get his way or get out of a punishment.

 

Mac was CJ.

 

No way. No fucking way.

 

The ex-thief raised his cup in a tentative toast that had Vic on his feet, stalking out of the building, knowing that if he didn't get out of there, he was going to smear Mac's pretty face all over the floor.

 

"Neither of them have their phones on."

 

"Then get our people out there and find them. I want this resolved tonight."

 

"Victor? Hey, come on!"

 

Vic's stride didn't falter and in fact lengthened as he tried to put more distance between himself and his partner.

 

"Listen, Vic, I know what it looks like... " Mac caught up with Vic and grabbed his shoulder, only to find himself with a face-full of the barrel of the older man's gun.

 

"Shut up, Mac. I do not want to hear another word from you, understand?" The other man nodded slowly, apparently deciding that the fury blazing in Vic's eyes made the threat a genuine one. "You got me. Must be damn proud of yourself too, suckered me in all the way on it."

 

"Vic, it-" The rest of whatever Mac had to say was lost in a painful grunt as Victor's fist connected with the side of his face, sending the younger man's sunglasses clattering to the ground.

 

"Shut the fuck up!" Vic wanted nothing more then to repeat the blow, to knock some of the ever-present cockiness from Mac's stance, but he held himself back. "No more, Mac. This was it. Find yourself a new partner; I'm not going to deal with your shit any longer. If the Director has a problem with it, she can just shoot me, would probably hurt less anyway." Giving his former partner a final, withering glare, Vic spun and stalked to his truck, grinding the ignition and tearing out into traffic without a backward glance.

 

Mac watched the bright red pickup disappear into the dusk and, moving like a man three times his age, stooped to pick up his mangled sunglasses. "It wasn't a game," he murmured, his tone defeated.

 

BlackWatch: Thought you had to work tonight?

 

LghtFngrs: Yeah, well I got lucky and switched shifts with a guy I know. So...

 

BlackWatch: So?

 

LghtFngrs: You still interested in getting together?

 

BlackWatch: Babe, I thought you'd never ask.

 

"What did you do, Mac? The Director is on a rampage."

 

"I fucked up, Li Ann, big time."

 

"How? All I know is that Dobrinsky is turning the city upside down looking for you and Victor. What is going on?"

 

"I'll tell you later, okay? Right now I've got to get ready for a date."

 

"A date? Mac, are you out of your mind?"

 

"So I've been told. And it's work related, tell the dragonlady that Kirkdon will be in her hands by the end of the evening, no problem."

 

"Damnit, Mac! What are you talking about? You aren't going after him by yourself! Where's Victor?"

 

"No idea, doll, and it's probably better that way. Don't worry, I've got it under control. I'm going to meet him... Hang on, that's the door."

 

"Forget the door! Where are you meeting this man? He's dangerous, you can't do this without backup."

 

"I'll be fine, he'll be on the Director's desk come morning wrapped up in a big red bow, okay? Can I help you?"

 

The connection dissolved into a loud burst of static at that, making Li Ann jerk the phone back from her ear. Redialing Mac's number only got her a 'this line is not in service' recording and sent her racing toward Mac's apartment, driving with one hand while she tried in vain to reach Vic, then reported the situation in to the Agency along with a call for reinforcements.

 

End


	5. Call waiting

Consciousness equaled pain.

 

That being the case, Mac wasn't too thrilled to wake up, especially when he found himself sprawled face down on the floor, his hands bound behind his back. Every inch of his body hurt and his first attempt at moving led to the conclusion that his right arm was either broken or dislocated.

 

All in all, not a good situation at all. What the fuck had happened? Last thing he remembered was talking to Li Ann on his cell phone and answering the door, then everything was blank.

 

Hoping to get some clue as to what had occurred, Mac opened his eyes just enough to get a glimpse of his surroundings. His smashed stereo was right in front of him, surrounded by shattered CDs. The only problem was that he had done that in a fit of anger and desperation upon returning home after his disastrous meeting with Victor.

 

God, I am such an asshole. Should have found another way to tell him, wonder if I'll ever get the chance to explain now.

 

Never one to discriminate based on gender, he'd been attracted to Vic from the start, even when they were trying to kill each other in Li Ann's apartment. He'd buried that interest under wisecracks and jibes back then, concentrating on trying to woo his former lover away from her fiance.

 

Then Li Ann had dumped Victor and Mac had found himself more interested in pursuing the older man then the woman they supposedly both loved. The only problem was that Vic gave no indication of knowing that the other side of the street even existed, let alone wanting to take a stroll down it.

 

Frustration with both himself and the situation goaded Mac into saying things that he normally wouldn't have, just to get some kind of reaction from his partner. He knew the Director was irritated with them for their 'inability to cooperate', and he knew that the majority of the blame was on his shoulders, but Mac couldn't break himself of the habit of goading Vic.

 

Until this case and the knowledge that while Victor wasn't as straight laced in regard to his sexuality as Mac had thought. So out came CJ, someone who could befriend the overwhelmed ex-cop and earn his trust.

 

Juggling two screennames had been a bit of a challenge, but thanks to some of the new devices the Agency's R and D area had come up with, Mac managed it with little problem. Initially, he had meant to tell Vic what was going on after their first few chat sessions, but, as their talks became more in-depth and intimate, he found he couldn't. Their conversations were a stark contrast to the degrading sessions he had with Kirkdon and Mac found himself needing the illusion of Vic's companionship as much as it seemed the older man needed CJ's.

 

Kirkdon. Fuck. Now he remembered opening the door to see the other man standing there, arm extended, before the world went black.

 

No chance Victor was going to show up any time soon. Hell, he'd probably load the gun for the psycho killer at this point, and applaud when he pulled the trigger. It didn't matter that everything Mac had told him over the computer was the truth - or as close to it as he could manage - in the end it had been a lie and Victor Mansfield did not tolerate lies or liars.

 

Maybe Li Ann would get here in time. Or maybe it would be best if Kirkdon put him out of his misery now. Maybe that would bring Vic and Li Ann back together, though Mac doubted that they would really make each other happy. At least he wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of his actions. Yeah, and maybe the Director would leave the Agency and join a convent.

 

"Finally awake, babe?"

 

At the question, Mac turned his head, biting back a curse at the way the motion intensified the ache in his shoulder. "Yeah, finally got enough beauty sleep," he quipped, managing to grin at the other man while studying him intently.

 

Kirkdon looked much the same as he had in the surveillance photo. One of those people you pass on the street without noticing twice. The small black object he held, did grab Mac's attention though.

 

Taser. That explained why every nerve in his body felt like it had been overloaded, the debilitating jolt of electricity the small weapon fired did just that.

 

"Mr... Ramsey is it?" Kirkdon asked, smiling thinly at Mac's nod. "I'm quite saddened by the fact that you deceived me. Here I show up at your residence, hoping for an enjoyable evening, and I find that you're some sort of law enforcement official. Most distressing."

 

"Tell you what, let me loose and I'll see what I can do to make it up to you," Mac said, offering his most ingratiating smile.

 

Kirkdon shook his head, before examining the setting on his Taser. "It's much too late for that Mr. Ramsey. Such a shame too. I was quite looking forward to our time together this evening. Unfortunately what I had planned would be too risky at this juncture so I will have to make do."

 

"Don't hurry on my account, I've got all the time in the world, really."

 

"Actually, you don't. Pity, but then those are the sacrifices we must make. Don't worry though, you won't feel a thing, just like the others didn't. I am a kind man after all."

 

The jolt of pain that streaked through his shoulder as he rolled over made Mac grind his teeth together, but damn if he was going to make this easy for the fucker. "You want me? Come and get me." With a lurch, he was on his feet and edging away from the killer.

 

"Would that I could babe, but playtime is over and I have to run. Goodbye." Kirkdon pressed the activation button on the Taser, launching the small dart into the air to embed itself in Mac's chest. The jolt of electricity sent the ex-thief to his knees, his last sight one of Kirkdon raising the revolver he held in his other hand for the killing shot.

 

A glass of single malt Scotch in his hand, the remainder of the bottle on the table nearby, and the Delta blues on the stereo. That was life was about, right? If so, then why didn't Victor Mansfield feel any better?

 

Damn Mac anyway. What gave him the right to screw with people's minds like that? And why the fuck did he have to choose Victor as his chief target?

 

The ex-cop downed the remainder of his drink, closing his eyes as the undiluted alcohol burned it's way down his throat before settling in his stomach and creating a warmth that did little to dispel that wintery chill that had settled on Victor's soul.

 

Stupid, naive, trusting idiot... Fell right into it, didn't you? Had me believing that he really cared, really was interested in me. Jesus, am I pathetic or what?

 

Amber liquor splashed on the coffee table as Vic refilled his glass and slumped back into the chair, his head falling forward onto his chest. For a while there he had believed it, had given himself over to the possibility that this guy had been the one, the one who would drive away the loneliness that plagued him and the hidden insecurities that even now swarmed over his drink-befuddled mind.

 

"Should have known..." Vic muttered, downing half his drink in one swallow, then grimacing. "Used to be able to see a set up a mile away..." But when it came to Mac and in some extent to Li Ann as well, he was constantly being blind-sided. How could you read people who had been raised in deception, who practiced it with the ease of breath?

 

It was like McCoy had said during that case involving Alexa and her eco-terrorists. Vic saw things in black and white while his partners dwelled in the gray areas. "Ex-partner, you mean," he growled. "Never again. Can't trust him, don't want him near."

 

By avoiding Mac maybe, just maybe, Victor could forget this whole thing happened. He could repress the memories of how he had looked forward to their nightly conversations, and, most of all, banish the memory of that last night from his brain.

 

As if called by that slim invitation, the image appeared full blown in Vic's mind. The lake, the deck, the music, only now instead being with a faceless stranger, he was dancing with Mac then the song ended and they were...

 

"No!" Vic bellowed, heaving his glass against the wall where it shattered, leaving an abstract splatter of Scotch against the paint. "I do not want this and I don't want him!" He lurched out of the chair, grabbed the bottle, and stumbled into the bedroom, intending to drink himself into an oblivion where today's events had never occurred.

 

Mac woke to the sound of gunfire and by the time he dragged his eyes open, Li Ann was crouched over him, examining him for injuries. "Don't touch the - ah!" he yelped as she grabbed his shoulder to turn him over.

 

"Sorry." From her tone, Li Ann wasn't sorry at all. In fact, she sounded downright angry at him. "What did you think you were doing?"

 

"Umm... Catching Kirkdon?" Mac offered sheepishly. There was a moment's pressure as Li Ann undid the handcuffs, then he sighed in relief as the strain on his arms eased.

 

"That was not your assignment."

 

Uh-oh. The Director was here too and man did she sound pissed. Great, just great.

 

"Li Ann, go and help get rid of Mr. Kirkdon. I want to have a chat with Mac before I go." The younger woman looked ready to object, but then nodded, something in the Director's eyes telling her that arguing right now was not a good idea.

 

"So then." As she spoke, the Director crouched down at Mac's side, the move straining her skin tight navy suit to the limit. "You decided to use my case as a social hunting ground. Not a wise move, darling. In fact, if we had arrived a little later, I wouldn't be having this conversation with you at all." She stroked her fingers across Mac's cheek, noting the bruise on his cheek with interest. "I see that Victor wasn't too happy about that either, but then you know our Victor - hates deception and all that. Very much the boy scout."

 

At this point, Mac decided that staying silent was the safest bet, so he simply waited, dreading whatever was coming next.

 

"I'll deal with him next, but never fear, my dear. I have some special plans for you once you've recovered." At that, the Director smiled and patted Mac's injured shoulder, her expression changing to one of phony sympathy when he winced. "Don't fuck around on the job, Ramsey, or I won't leave you anything to fuck around with." That said, she turned and strolled out of the apartment, leaving her agent in the hands of the paramedics who had just arrived.

 

"Victor darling, wake up..." The throaty words were accompanied by a light tickling at his ear, and Vic squirmed, enjoying the sensation.

 

The feeling turned far less pleasant when the gentle touch turned painful as long nails dug into his earlobe and he woke enough to recognize the seductive voice as that of the Director.

 

The Director? In his bed? Shit! Vic scrambled for the far side of the bed with a yelp, intending on putting as much space between him and the harpy as possible - and grateful that he had fallen asleep in his clothes earlier that evening.

 

The abrupt movement and the loud applause that followed it, made Vic's head ache. It was all he could do to keep from trying to hide under the pillows to get away from both his boss and the hangover that dogged him.

 

"Now Victor, I have one thing to say to you and then I'll let you get back to sleep." As she spoke, the Director ran a fingernail over the soft cotton sheets, idly tracing designs on the plain white fabric. "Well, two things actually, but they're both brief."

 

"Yeah?" Vic sat up at that, watching the Director warily, remembering what Mac had told him about the time the woman showed up in his bed in the middle of the night. All he needed right now was a lecture about getting along with others or a come on from the queen bitch.

 

"First of all," she began, "Kirkdon is dead. Unfortunately, he almost took Mac with him. If I had lost an agent because the two of you can't decide whether you want to fight or fuck, I would have been most annoyed. If you have a problem, figure it out on your own time, not mine. Am I clear on that point?" At Vic's shallow nod, she continued. "And Victor dear, if you're going to drink Scotch, do stick to the good brands. Those second rate blends can leave you with a wicked headache." Smiling benignly, she slid from the bed, leaving the apartment as silently as she had entered.

 

Vic watched the doorway until he was sure that she was gone, then lowered his head into his hands, swallowing harshly to fight the nausea that threatened to claim him. When had he lost control of his life? And how did he get it back?


	6. Caller ID

There was something about hospitals that Victor Mansfield hated.

 

If asked, he couldn't have pin-pointed it exactly, but the combination of the antiseptic smell along with the cold, sterile atmosphere and the fact that being in one meant that either Vic or someone he knew had been injured, all added up to an intense case of dislike for the places.

 

So why, if I hate them so much, am I here? There was no easy answer to that question, and he continued down the long hallway, feeling like a condemned man approaching the gallows. The closer he got to his destination, the greater his sense of trepidation, until the former cop was having to force himself to take each step.

 

Aware of the nurses' close scrutiny at his sloth-like pace, Vic made himself take the final steps toward his destination, stopping outside the closed door. Raising a hand to rub at the back of his neck in the hopes of dispelling both his lingering hangover as well as the tension headache that had started the moment he walked into the hospital, Vic sighed. This wasn't going to work, he couldn't go through with it, not now.

 

Part of his ambivalence came from the simple fact that Vic had no clue what he would say to Mac when he saw him, or even if he wanted to see him at all. A request for an explanation would be a good start, and the desire for one was what had him here in the first place. Well, that and the Director's 'suggestion' that he check in on Mac today. The rest of his reluctance was because given what had happened, Victor had no desire to hear Mac gloating about how he'd 'gotten' him, and gotten him the ex-thief had.

 

This wasn't going to work. There was no way he could go in there, make small talk, and act as if nothing had happened. Even with all the shit they had been through, Victor had trusted Mac to watch his back. Now he wasn't sure if he even trusted himself in that regard.

 

Fuck.

 

Vic glanced from his half-raised hand to the beige door in front of him, then took a step backwards. The Director could take whatever chunk she wanted out of his hide, it didn't matter. Whatever she did would be less dangerous and painful then walking through that door.

 

Stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets, Vic spun on his heel and hot-footed it out of the hospital, moving as if there was a bomb on its final countdown within the building.

 

"You're moping again."

 

"Am not," Mac muttered, his sullen tone a good match for the petulant pout of his lower lip.

 

Li Ann leaned against the corner of her former lover and current partner's dining room table and shook her head in exasperation. "Fine, you aren't moping, you're brooding. Is that better?"

 

"I'm recovering from an injury sustained in the line of duty. Doesn't that entitle me to some pity and compassion?"

 

"Not when you've milked it for almost two weeks, it doesn't. You'd better get back soon or you're going to lose your parking space."

 

Mac tilted his head just enough to look at Li Ann fully. "Maybe if I stay out longer I'll lose my job as well."

 

"Maybe if you stay out any longer the Director will send someone to bring you in."

 

"You mean she didn't send you to do that?"

 

"No, I came all on my own with the mistaken idea that you might prove to be ready to listen to rational arguments regarding this. She's not going to let you sit around here forever. I can't understand why she's let it go this long."

 

"It's not like I'm not working," Mac replied, quick to defend himself. "She's got me looking up the most stupid facts known to man on the internet. The average export of mangos per capita from Colombia, the mean rainfall in Costa Rica. I'm beginning to feel like a walking Trivial Pursuit game or something."

 

"Poor Mac." Li Ann chuckled and ruffled his hair, arching an eyebrow when he didn't automatically reach up to straighten the disheveled strands. "Well, she has one more assignment for you too. She wants the final report on the Kirkdon case in her e-mail tomorrow morning."

 

Mac sighed, closed his eyes, and thumped his head against the back of the couch. "Great. Just how I wanted to spend my evening, reliving that." One dark brown eye slitted open and he stared at Li Ann accusingly. "I thought you said she didn't send you."

 

"No," Li Ann tucked her purse under her arm and breezed toward the door, "she didn't, but she did ask me to pass on the message if I saw you. If I were you, I'd get it done." The door closed behind the young woman before Mac could reply, then popped open again. "And stop moping!"

 

"I'm not moping!" Mac shouted, growling when it was clear that Li Ann wasn't coming back to continue the argument. "I'm not," he mumbled. "I'm reviewing my life. That's it. Oh fuck, who am I kidding?"

 

Taking care not to twist his bound arm and shoulder, Mac pushed up off the couch and went out onto the balcony, resting his good arm on the railing and watching the traffic below. This was so pathetic. He was so pathetic, so screwed up, so fucking in love with Victor Mansfield that it hurt.

 

God it hurt.

 

He hadn't seen or heard a trace of the older man since that fuck-up of a day and, to tell the truth, that was the main reason Mac had been avoiding going back to work. "Great, now I'm a coward on top of being pathetic. Why did this happen to me? I liked my life the way it was. Chase some bad guys, have a few drinks, find someone to go home with..."

 

Put that way, it didn't sound like much of a life at all, only a lonely existence. Maybe that was where it all started, the simple desire to belong with someone that had unfortunately fixated on probably the worst choice on the earth.

 

"Could have been worse," he said with a painful laugh, "could have fallen for the Director." Mac couldn't stop the shudder that ran through him at that, then cursed as the motion jarred his arm. "Report. Yeah. By tomorrow. Whatever you want, ma'am."

 

One handed typing was not his strong suit, so after Mac had gathered up his laptop, a drink, and his headphones, he settled himself on the lounge chair on the balcony, ready for a long evening and an even longer night.

 

After four hours, a hundred curses and more backspacing then he cared to think of, Mac was ready to scream but, thankfully, he was also done with the damn report. It had been an exercise in creative writing as well as hunt and peck typing, but hopefully the result would get most of the heat off of Vic and onto his shoulders where it belonged. "Shit, I can't believe I'm actually doing this..." But then what else could he do? It wasn't Vic's fault. Now if only the Director would believe him.

 

"Don't know she why she would, hell, no one else does." Self-pity and the nagging ache in his shoulder conspired together to set Mac on edge and he pounded at the keyboard as he saved the file, then booted up his mail program to send the damn thing in.

 

"Get this mailed, take a pill, have a drink and go to sleep." Chanting this little mantra had gotten him through the last of the tortuous, redundant questions that filled the special report form - all ten pages of it - and now that the end was in sight, the words had a slightly hysterical edge to them. "C'mon, c'mon... Shit!" An IM box popped up on the screen and Mac prepared himself to blast whoever it was. He'd already started typing out a nasty response when he really looked at the sender's name, and his fingers stilled on the keys.

 

"Will you answer the damn IM, Ramsey," Victor growled to himself as he paced back and forth. This wasn't how he had meant to confront the younger man, but as he couldn't seem to bring himself to see Mac and Mac wasn't coming into work, it left few options.

 

What about the phone? Oh yeah right, and have one of us hang up. No, this is the only way.

 

The past two weeks hadn't been easy for Vic. Between his own conflicted emotions regarding everything that had happened and the snide comments that Dobrinsky kept offering up, he had been ready to tear someone's head off - preferably Mac's for putting him in this damn situation to begin with. Then he had happened to overhear a couple of the forensics guys laughing their asses off over what had happened and Vic found himself defending his partner - ex-partner - what-ever he was - with a vehemence that had sent the two lab rats scuttling back for their holes.

 

Couple that with the fact that every time he closed his eyes that damn vision of the lake popped up and who could blame Vic for being in a crappy mood. "I want my life back the way it was." It had been simple before all this - well, as simple as life could get for an ex-cop secret agent anyway. Pine after Li Ann, never mind that he had been doing less and less of that lately, play poker with the Cleaners, go a few verbal rounds with Mac, and take on whatever strange case the Director assigned them, knowing that his partners would be there to cover his back.

 

Maybe that was why this all cut so deep. Despite their bickering, Victor had trusted Mac and now - now he didn't know how he felt.

 

But he knew he had to find out.

 

TrueBlue: Mac, we need to talk.

 

LghtFngrs: I - umm, okay Victor, but don't you think the phone is easier? I've only got one hand right now after all.

 

TrueBlue: Shit. Forget it, I know you couldn't be serious about this.

 

LghtFngrs: Wait! Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I just... I didn't expect to hear from you, especially like this. I know I really screwed all this up and I'm sorry.

 

TrueBlue: Yeah, you did. I just needed to know...

 

LghtFngrs: What?

 

TrueBlue: Why? 

 

LghtFngrs: Why what? Why did I do what I did or why you?

 

TrueBlue: Either. Both. Why all the lies and crap? Was it that funny?

 

LghtFngrs: It started out as a way to make you relax about the whole assignment but then... It wasn't meant to be funny and I never lied to you.

 

TrueBlue: Cut the bullshit. If you don't call pretending to be someone else a lie, I don't know what is.

 

LghtFngrs: It was me damn it. Maybe the name was different, but it was me, without all the baggage and shit that we have between us. It was probably the closest to me that you'll ever see... Shit. Forget it, why am I even trying? Yeah Vic, it was just a game. You know me, always out to fuck with your head. Sorry if you took it wrong. If you feel like it, come on over and beat me up, can't fight back much right now anyway.

 

TrueBlue: Don't hand me the guilt trip, Ramsey. You started this whole thing, how did you think I'd react when I found out?

 

LghtFngrs: You're right, I didn't think - as usual. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go and take my drugs like a good little boy and go to bed. Have a problem with that?

 

TrueBlue: Go ahead, run away. I notice you haven't answered my question yet.

 

LghtFngrs: ::sigh:: What question?

 

TrueBlue: Why did you do it?

 

LghtFngrs: Oh, that one.

 

TrueBlue: Yeah, that one.

 

LghtFngrs: If you don't know, I don't think I can tell you in a way you'll understand.

 

TrueBlue: Humor me.

 

LghtFngrs: Fuck.

 

LghtFngrs: It's like I said. I wanted a chance for us to talk without out all the shit from our past hanging over us. Without having to jump through the macho, one-up-on-each-other hoops that we dangle in front of each other. I just wanted for you to see -

 

TrueBlue: What?

 

LghtFngrs: Me. What I really think.

 

TrueBlue: Which is?

 

LghtFngrs: God, you aren't going to give an inch, are you?

 

TrueBlue: Put yourself in my place. Would you?

 

LghtFngrs: Probably not.

 

TrueBlue: So, why should I?

 

LghtFngrs: Yeah. Maybe I wanted you to see that I'm just not an arrogant, amoral slut. Maybe I wanted you to see that there's more to me then the reckless fuck-up. Really screwed that up, didn't I? Only good thing that came out of it is that I got to dance with you. I can't get that scene out of my head sometimes.

 

TrueBlue: Me either.

 

LghtFngrs: What?

 

TrueBlue: I close my eyes and it's there, only now I can't remember how it was with CJ because you're there.

 

LghtFngrs: Vic, I am CJ.

 

TrueBlue: I know that! But I didn't then and I can't tell what I feel about any of it any more. Damnit Mac, why?

 

LghtFngrs: I'm sorry Victor. If I could do it over again, I wouldn't, but since I can't... I'm sorry.

 

TrueBlue: You still haven't told me.

 

LghtFngrs: I can't, I mean what's the point? You won't believe me anyway.

 

TrueBlue: Tell me to my face and I'll believe you.

 

LghtFngrs: I would if you were here.

 

TrueBlue: Open your door.

 

LghtFngrs: Oh right.

 

TrueBlue: Mac, go open your fucking door. I'm tired of standing out here leaning against the wall and typing on this thing. Besides, the charge is almost gone on my cell phone.

 

 

While waiting for Mac to come and open the door, Vic shut down his computer and disconnected it from his cell, purposely shutting the phone off before shoving it into his jacket pocket. This was going to be difficult enough without any interruptions.

 

The quiet click of the well-oiled locks disengaging preceded the inward swing of the door, and Vic found himself face to face with his definitely worse for the wear partner.

 

"Victor." Mac's voice was subdued as he stepped out of the way to let Vic in.

 

"You look like shit." The comment was offered up without the heat of emotion, just as a statement of fact. Mac did look like shit, haggard and scruffy, dressed in wrinkled clothes - now Vic knew that the younger man was serious, there was no way the fashion plate ex-thief would allow himself to look like this otherwise. Mac shrugged his good shoulder, then closed the door behind Vic. "Ironing with one hand is not something I'd recommend for the faint hearted. Want something to drink?"

 

"No." Vic set his equipment down on the coffee table and waited, arms folded across his chest. "You know what I want."

 

"Yeah." Mac wandered aimlessly around the room, rubbing at the canvas sling that supported his injured arm, looking anywhere but at the older man. Finally coming to a stop by the armoire that used to hold his stereo, Mac raised his head, risking a glance at Victor. "Maybe this would have been easier to type," he sighed out.

 

Vic remained silent, taking a seat on the couch, avoiding the ridiculous red inflatable 'chair' even though it afforded a better view of the ex-thief.

 

"Or maybe not," Mac continued, "at least this way I can tell if you're going to pull your gun on me rather than being shot through the door."

 

"You're stalling again," Vic stated, glaring at the younger man with a gaze that could at best be described as neutral.

 

Mac nodded at that, centering his attention on the floor in front of him. "First, why did I do it. I suppose that's the easier of the questions to answer." He sighed and leaned back against the polished wood, trusting the heavy piece of furniture to hold his weight. "It's like I told you, at first I was trying to get you to relax, to give you someone unthreatening to talk with to help you loosen up. Let's face it, Vic, you weren't exactly racking up points in those rooms with the retiring flower bit. Kirkdon liked shy, not invisible."

 

The former thief focused on his foot as he rubbed his toes over the light oak of the hard-wood floors, and continued before Vic could voice whatever protest he might make. "I enjoyed it, the chance to talk to you without all of this blowing up between us again. Hell, I liked being able to flirt with you and when you flirted back... I know that it was wrong to lead you on like that, but it got to the point that... Tiew. If you could have seen the shit I was telling Kirkdon - I needed it to keep me sane. I thought maybe that I could explain when we met, that you'd give me the benefit of the doubt." Mac lifted his eyes at that to look at Vic. "Wrong as usual."

 

Vic met the younger man's troubled gaze head on, refusing to flinch or cave in to the raw regret that was all too visible in Mac's dark eyes. "And the other question?"

 

"Why you? God, I wish I could answer that myself. I don't know when exactly it happened, but the first time I consciously realized how much I wanted you was after Michael almost killed all of us. There we were, barely alive, bruised, burned and bloody and all I could think of was that if you had gotten yourself killed trying to save me I would have kicked your ass. And then I wanted to take you home, wrap myself around you and never let go. It was total, complete insanity to even think of it, so I pushed it aside. I mean, what was the point? One, you didn't like men that way. Two, you tolerate me most of the time but I'm not going to pretend it's more then that. Three, I knew who you loved. And then came this case and several of those notions headed south for the winter. So I had to try."

 

Mac turned and leaned against the armoire, rubbing at the back of his neck with his left hand. "I never meant for you to be hurt by all this or for it to get that out of hand, but then when do my plans ever work out like I expect them to? You didn't ask that though, you wanted to know why you. Why did Mac Ramsey decide to fall for Victor Mansfield. It's - shit, I don't even know if I can explain it. You're my center. I know whatever I get into, you'll have my back. It started because I trust you, and it ends because you don't trust me, not that I blame you."

 

"So it all comes down to the fact that I'm loyal? How fucking flattering. Maybe you should get a dog if that's what you want." Whatever Vic had been expecting, Mac's rambling admission certainly hadn't been it. Fast, loose and easy, that's what he thought the younger man preferred. But maybe he didn't know Mac as well as he thought.

 

"Don't want a dog, want you," Mac whispered.

 

"Because I watch your back? C'mon Mac, that's a load of crap and you know it."

 

"No." Mac spun and glared at the older man, depression and self-pity giving way to anger. "Because I want you so fucking much I can't think. Because most nights you're the last thing I think of before I go to sleep - after jerking off thinking about you - and the first thing I think of in the morning. Because when I'm out, I see something, or hear some music and wish that I could show you it. Because..."

 

"Because what?"

 

"Oh no, you got the rest out of me, but not that."

 

Vic set aside his own feelings about the matter for the moment and looked at Mac. The younger man's lanky body was taught with nerves and a muscle jumped under the darkly shadowed skin of his jaw. Did he believe what the other man said? Mac could run a con with the best of them, but the few times Vic had seen him emotionally involved in a situation, like with his father, or Clare, he had carried himself in this same manner.

 

What do I want from this? There was that damn question again. Before tonight, Vic would have said retribution, or revenge, but now those thoughts were strangely absent. God, part of him wanted to take Mac into his arms and soothe the anguish from his face, to coax a smile back to those full lips. But not now, it was too soon - for both of them.

 

Pushing himself off the couch, Vic moved toward Mac, hyper-aware of the way the other man's eyes warily tracked his steps. "Relax, I'm not going to slug you," he sighed. "This is... Where's your stereo?"

 

Mac's brow wrinkled in confusion, then he managed a one shouldered shrug. "Scrap yard probably, not much anyone can do with one that's in a pile of scraps."

 

"Kirkdon trash it?" "No, it was already that way when he got here. I... was a little upset when I got home."

 

Vic nodded at that. "I think I'm familiar with that emotion. Spent my night downing half a bottle of Scotch, then woke up with the Director in my bed giving me what for."

 

Mac couldn't stop the shudder that ran through him at that, then groaned as the pain in his shoulder announced itself forcefully. "My condolences."

 

"Yeah, wasn't one of my favorite moments," Vic said. "Is it time for your meds? Looks like that hurt."

 

"They're as needed, but they knock me on my ass. I'd prefer that we get this done before I take them and really start babbling."

 

"Mac..." the ex-cop growled. "You are so damn stubborn. Take the pills if you need to. We can talk about this more later."

 

The younger man couldn't hide his look of surprise at that. "You mean you're actually going to keep talking to me?"

 

Victor smiled wryly. "It's that loyalty thing I guess, can't walk away even when I should."

 

Mac gave a ghost of a smile in response. "You know, it's not just that. The Director was right." At Vic's perplexed look, he continued. "You do have killer eyes and a great ass."

 

"Don't push it, Ramsey. Take your pills and get some rest, we can finish this later."

 

"Okay," Mac nodded, his expression quite meek - for him. "Let me know when you decide you want to."

 

Wondering if this indeed was the best course of action, but aware that it was indeed what he wanted, Vic reached up and touched the now faded bruise he'd given Mac two weeks before. "I think I owe you a triple shot almond cappuccino. How about I pick you up tomorrow afternoon and we go get one?"

 

Mac's smile was instantaneous and blinding. "I say I like the idea."

 

Vic shook his head and flicked the end of Mac's nose. "So do I, partner, so do I"

 

~end~

 

Translation from Cantonese: Tiew = Fuck


	7. Coffee Klatch

"Free at last, free at last."

 

Victor looked up from his sports scores, chuckling at Mac's relieved comment and the lack of the sling that had been the other man's unwanted fashion accessory for the past six weeks. "Finally! I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to drive you to work for the rest of your life."

 

"Hey!" Mac laughed, settling into the chair next to Vic and grabbing the entertainment section of the paper, scanning the local scene for items of interest. "You had my company and free coffee every morning, what's there to complain about?"

 

"The fact that the two of you never brought me any and were late more times then you were on time the whole month?" Li Ann arched a delicately sculpted eyebrow over the top of the world section, shook her head minutely, and went back to her reading, choosing to ignore the quick look the two men shared and the slight flush that stained Victor's cheeks.

 

"Don't fret, Li Ann. They never brought me any either and heaven knows I appreciate a good espresso as much as the next person." The Director's appearance was accompanied by a rustling sound as the three agents quickly put down their respective sections of the newspaper. "But all that research will serve them in good stead today."

 

Vic leaned forward in his chair, his demeanor suddenly turning serious. "What's the case? Drugs smuggled in coffee beans to fool the sniffer dogs?"

 

"Hardly." The Director dismissed the suggestion with a languid wave of her hand.

 

"Someone blackmailing caffeine addicted people with cutting off their supply?" Mac's suggestion was met with a withering look of disdain from both women.

 

"And to think I was looking forward to having the whole team together again. What was I thinking? No, gentlemen, your assignment involves neither of those interesting possibilities, in fact, it quite simple really. There is a shipment of specially roasted Sumatran Blue waiting for me at the Leeside Resort, I would like the two of you to go and pick it up."

 

"But what about..."

 

"I have a special project for Li Ann today. Considering that Mac is just off the injured roster I would think you would appreciate the chance to have a simple, straight forward assignment this time."

 

The younger man grumbled a bit, sinking down in his seat and starting to pout. "I thought I was cleared for real assignments, not delivery duty!"

 

The Director smiled benignly at Mac, then stood, motioning for Li Ann to accompany her. "Consider it a gift to your partners who've been covering for you in your absence. Mr. Dobrinsky will provide you with directions. Now run along boys, we have better things to do."

 

With that, the two women breezed out of the conference room, heading up the stairs to whatever mysterious place awaited them.

 

"They..." Mac started, looking from the stairs to Vic, then back again. "Li Ann is allowed up there now?"

 

Vic shrugged, standing and grabbing his black leather jacket. It was really too hot for the coat outside, but inside the Agency the temperature had been known to fluctuate by as much as thirty degrees in an hour - just another bit of weirdness that was par for the course here. "Started not long after you got hurt, and no I don't know what's going on up there so don't ask."

 

"But - " Mac darted on last look toward the stairs, then shook his head as if to clear a particularly vivid image from his mind and followed Vic out the door, almost running into Dobrinsky, who was waiting for them outside.

 

"Map and directions. Have fun boys and don't misplace the package, she's been waiting for that coffee for quite a while."

 

Victor scanned the map, then handed it to Mac. "Niagara on the Lake. Good thing I gassed up the truck this morning, you're talking a two hour drive at least!"

 

"You're not driving, I'm driving!" Mac retorted, holding the map behind his back when Vic sought to grab it from him.

 

"Oh no, you aren't. I'm not listening to that noise you play for four hours, no way, no how!" Even as he protested, Vic was grinning at the younger man, and he wasn't trying too hard to grab the print out.

 

In retaliation, Mac stretched his arm over his head, knowing that Vic couldn't grab the map without finding something to stand on. "Oh yes I am!"

 

"I don't care if you walk, roller-blade or bike to that place, but you will get there and get the Director's package today, understand?" Dobrinsky snapped, turning and stalking away, plainly put out with the two agents' teasing.

 

"I'll let you drive if Dobrinsky loans you one of his cars," Mac offered, twisting to avoid the half-hearted punch Vic aimed at his shoulder, but keeping the map held high over his head as they headed outside, still bickering over who was going to drive.

 

"So, do you think the dragon lady has ulterior motives in sending us on this little errand?" Vic's question was just this side of a shout since they were driving with the windows of Mac's sleek import down and the sunroof open. Hot summer air blasted over them, giving the illusion of a cool breeze, one that was dispelled every time they had to slow down for traffic.

 

"Does she ever do anything without an ulterior motive?" Mac asked, taking his eyes off the road long enough to grin at his partner, then gunning the engine to pass a truck on the right hand side.

 

"You know, if a constable is watching, you're going to pile up so many points on your license it isn't going to be funny."

 

"Maybe he'll throw us both in a cell together if I harass him enough."

 

"Gee, just how I wanted to spend the weekend."

 

"I dunno, could be romantic if you look at it in the right way."

 

Victor laughed at that, shaking his head in resignation. "Somehow cold steel, thin, stained mattresses and other guys calling us new meat does not strike me as romantic."

 

"Hmmm." Mac's brow furrowed as he thought this over, then he nodded. "You're right. Guess I'll have to cancel those orange jumpsuits I ordered then and come up with something else to seduce you with."

 

"Ramsey you are such a pervert." Vic sighed at Mac's answering laugh and contemplated punching the ex-thief in the shoulder, a move he passed on when he glanced at the speedometer and saw how fast they were going.

 

"I do try, but it doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere," the younger man said mournfully.

 

Vic sobered slightly at that reminder of their tenuous relationship and where it was or wasn't going. Despite the fact that Victor had admitted he was interested in his male partner as more then an antagonistic friend, despite the handful of kisses they had shared, despite the fact that he was allowing himself to enjoy Mac's company more and more, Vic still couldn't take that final step.

 

When the ex-cop gave his heart, it was without reservation. Something, as he has found out when Li Ann had dumped him, that could lead to more pain then pleasure at times. The potential was there with Mac, but could Vic let himself take that step and risk being left again?

 

Mac shifted his eyes toward his now silent partner and cursed to himself, noting the other man's smile had faded away and that his expression was now far too sober for his own good. Deciding that further joking might just send Vic farther into his mood, Mac didn't bother him, he simply turned up the music a bit, hoping that sooner or later Vic would notice that he was being bombarded with techno pop and react.

 

It wasn't until the CD changer in the tiny trunk switched the disc to one of the blues recordings that Mac had purposefully put in it that Vic came out of his reverie. "Now just how did you learn about John Lee Hooker?" he asked the younger man, eyebrows raised in an expression of interest.

 

Mac gave an easy shrug, but it was plain that he was pleased that Victor had noticed. "I can read, you know," he answered. "And you do have those moldy old 8-tracks lying all over your place. It was either him or C C King."

 

"B B King," Vic corrected with a soft laugh. "I'm just amazed you let your sound system be tainted by real music."

 

"Well..." The former thief, tilted his head and grinned at his partner. "Just wait until you hear what comes next."

 

Vic groaned and shook his head and the two fell silent again, but the uncomfortable feeling had passed.

 

"Mmm, not a bad place, too bad we have to head back tonight."

 

"Do you want to be the one to keep the Director from her coffee beans?" Vic asked, silently admiring the resort they were approaching. The Leeside was located on the western shores of Lake Ontario, and was designed so that the Alpine styled buildings fit in with the surrounding landscaping as if they had been there for hundreds of years, not less then ten.

 

"Mmm... No." Mac finally sighed, weighing the break against the dragon lady's wrath and finding it coming up short. Besides, if he ever got Vic somewhere like this, the last thing he wanted was for them to be interrupted by someone else from the Agency, especially Dobrinsky or Jackie.

 

The lanky ex-thief shuddered at that, drawing a questioning look from his partner. "Just had a nasty thought," Mac grinned. "One so bad you don't even want to know what it was."

 

Vic eyed Mac for a moment, then chuckled, unbuckling his seat belt and stepping out of the car, stretching out his legs and back as he stood. "The way your mind works, no way I want to know."

 

Mac followed suit, leaning back into the car to grab his sport jacket, then deciding against it. The sun was already baking down on them and it was only going to get hotter, no need to be too uncomfortable. "My mind is just creative. Cre-A-tive, ever heard of that word?"

 

"No, but I have heard of the word psy-cho-tic," Vic quipped back, laughing at Mac's feigned look of outrage as he rounded the car. "C'mon Van Gogh, lets get the boss lady her stuff and get back. I'll spring for dinner tonight if you want."

 

"Be still my heart!" Mac laughed, clutching at his chest and ducking to avoid Vic's half-hearted swing. "Let me guess - Hong Kong food is out though?"

 

Vic grinned at that, then nodded. "Exactly. Though I could be talked into Thai."

 

"Thai works by me, especially if you're paying." The younger man opened the wood and glass door, bowing with a flourish the earned him a groan from his partner. "After you m'lord."

 

"Psychotic," Vic sighed as he walked inside the large, airy lobby, feeling the cool air conditioning caress his face. Keeping with the alpine architecture, the lobby was filled with heavy wood pieces of furniture, and a massive stone fireplace took up most of one of the outer walls. Skylights overhead let squares of sunlight through, lightening patches of the weathered oak floorboards, picking up the jeweled tones of the area rugs scattered around the conversation areas.

 

"And there's a problem with that?" Mac asked, catching up with the older man and falling in alongside him. There was a slight gleam in his eyes, brought on by the fact that his bow had given him a very good view of Vic's ass when the other man passed him by.

 

"Not if you want to be compared to the Cleaners or Jackie, it isn't." Vic rested his elbows on the granite counter and smiled pleasantly at the clerk.

 

The young woman blushed, then smiled back, her gaze flicking from one man to the other, plainly trying not to stare at either but not succeeding well. "Good morning. May I help you?"

 

"Morning. We're here to pick up some coffee beans, for ahhh..." Mac blanked on the name and shot a look at Vic.

 

"D. Rictor of the GAC," the older agent replied, frowning slightly at the tug of jealousy he felt when Mac gave the clerk his most charming grin.

 

Mac nodded at that, turning his smile on Vic full force. "That's it. The woman needs her coffee and she needs it now. Why else would she be spending government dollars getting us to drive down here and pick it up?"

 

The clerk nodded at that, looking a little confused, as if she wasn't sure if this was a joke or not. "If you'll excuse me a moment, gentlemen, I'll see what I can find out."

 

"Take your time," Mac called out to her back, then turned to look at Vic quizzically. "What?"

 

Victor's eyes had darkened into hard agate and he shifted over, putting physical as well as emotional space between them. "You just can't stop it, can you?"

 

"Can't stop what?"

 

"Coming on to everyone around you, that's what. Is it genetic or just a learned trait?"

 

Mac's brow creased in confusion. "I wasn't coming on to her. I just smiled at her is all. We're supposed to be polite, aren't we."

 

"Polite doesn't mean undressing her with your eyes, now does it," Vic hissed.

 

"Vic, I wasn't..." Mac's reply was cut off by the return of the clerk.

 

"I'm sorry, but the truck carrying that shipment is running late. It should be in later today if you'd like to wait."

 

Seeing that Vic wasn't going to answer, Mac nodded, carefully keeping from smiling at the woman again. "That will be fine, we can have some lunch and come back later. Can you recommend somewhere?"

 

She nodded, looking a little perplexed at the sudden change in both men's demeanors. "We've got a very good restaurant here with a deck that overlooks the lake. There are also trails along the water if you have time. It's quite a drive back to town and this way you don't have to brave these roads twice. They can get bad if the weather turns, not that we should have that problem today."

 

"Works for me, Vic?" Mac asked, glancing at his partner once again, hoping he had calmed down some. Unfortunately, he hadn't.

 

"Yeah, fine, whatever."

 

"We'll be back later, thanks for your help."

 

"If there's anything either of you need, just ask for Amy. I'd be glad to help."

 

"I'm sure you will," Vic muttered under his breath as they walked away.

 

Mac waited until they had left the building and were on the path to the lakeshore before speaking again. "So, want to explain what that was about in there?"

 

Vic looked up, his expression a heart wrenching mixture of anger and pain. "It's about me being reminded of the facts of life, Mac. Facts I had managed to forget until now."

 

"Huh?"

 

"Let's face it, we're too different to even think of trying this. I'm a one person guy. Something bright catches your eye and you're gone. And I would rather stop now and us stay friends than go farther and end up hating each other because of it."

 

"I wasn't flirting with her!" Mac almost wailed. He stopped then, and his pout slowly changed to a shit-eating grin. "Victor Mansfield, I do believe you're jealous."

 

"I'm not jealous, Ramsey. I'm pissed and enlightened. There's a difference." His jaw set in a mutinous jut, Vic turned to stalk away only to find himself caught by the arm and pulled back onto a trail that led into the well-tended woods around the resort.

 

"You are, and it's cute," Mac chuckled. "I didn't mean anything by it, that was my regular 'put the help at ease' grin. This is my 'I want to jump your bones right now' grin." With that he caught Vic's chin between his fingers, making the older man look at him.

 

"Mac, you want to jump the bones of anything that walks on two legs," Vic sighed, averting his eyes so as not to be beguiled by the other man's cajoling smile.

 

"Oh no, not any more," Mac corrected quietly. "Only want one thing - one person. The same one I've been torturing myself over for almost a year now. Only want you, Victor, and it's time you believed it."

 

"Prove it to me and I will," Vic challenged, his words bringing a glimmer of heat to the other man's gaze.

 

Mac paused, listening to the beat of his pulse thundering in his ears, watching Vic carefully, not wanting to read him wrong. "I'd be glad to." The words were uttered in a husky whisper as he leaned closer and closed his lips over Victor's, seducing the older man with lips, tongue, and the truth of his feelings.

 

Vic held himself still under the assault, then his defenses slowly collapsed, and he found himself wrapped around his taller partner, returning the kiss with a ferocity that was both arousing and frightening.

 

"You know," Mac breathed, his lips moving seductively over the curved shell of Vic's ear, " this really sucks."

 

"What does?" the ex-cop gasped, deciding now that he'd given in, he might as well taste the hollow of Mac's neck. The groan this got him made him smile, and Vic went to work with relish.

 

Mac's hand were moving restlessly over the shorter man's back, his fingers digging into the soft fabric of Vic's shirt and the hard muscles beneath it. "Sucks that we're nowhere near a bed when you finally decide to jump me."

 

"I think it was you who decided to jump me," Victor corrected absently.

 

"Could be, don't think there's any blood left in my brain to remember right now."

 

"And that's different from your normal behavior how?" Vic asked, softening the teasing by arching into his partner's body, feeling exactly where all that blood had gone. "You're right you know, I was jealous. Of her, of you. I was pissed too, pissed that you could be coming on to me one minute and her the next."

 

Mac started to say something, but Vic cut him off with a kiss. "I know you weren't - now."

 

"Well, I was," the younger man chuckled. "Coming on to you, I mean. Didn't think you noticed."

 

"I noticed all right."

 

"I can tell." With that, Mac pressed back, lightly rocking their cloth-covered erections together.

 

"This sucks," Vic moaned, realizing just how long it was going to be before they were somewhere they could do something about their predicament.

 

Mac muttered evil sounding Cantonese curses then lifted his head and looked toward the lake at the sound of a distant peal of thunder. "Looks like we're in for some rain; hope that doesn't tie the damn truck up more. I wanna get out of here and next to you as fast as we can."

 

The wind picked up, driving the first few raindrops through the leafy canopy, reminding Vic that his jacket was in the car along with Mac's. "How about some lunch - maybe that'll help us cool off enough to survive the drive back."

 

"If not, we can just stay out here longer; that'll do it for sure." The drops were coming closer together now, and the sky had taken on a peculiar greenish-gray that spoke of worse weather to come.

 

Vic shook his head, giving Mac a final kiss before backing away from his partner, pulling his shirt out of his jeans to hide the all too evident bulge in his pants. "C'mon, Ramsey. We get wet and those over-priced clothes of yours will be ruined." Breaking into a trot, he headed back toward the main building, Mac hot on his heels and the downpour close behind.

 

"Think she believed you?"

 

"What's not to believe?" Vic asked, folding his cell phone and putting it back into his pocket. "We're stuck here because the road is flooded and even if we could get out, we don't have what we came for so we'd be stuck anyway."

 

Mac nodded in agreement at that, then chuckled. "Plus, I think she's more inclined to believe you then me anyway."

 

"Now I wonder why that could be..." The two men were seated in the wingback chairs nearest to the fireplace which had been lit to chase the chill and damp from the room. The rain had slowed from the thunderous downpour that had deluged the western part of the lake, but it was still heavy enough to obscure the view from the plate glass windows at the opposite end of the lobby.

 

"No idea at all," Mac sighed, leaning his head back against the rich burgundy leather and rubbing his shoulder, then canting a look at Victor. "So, we're stuck here. Think we should get a room?"

 

"Don't know about you, but I don't want to sleep out here," Vic replied before turning serious as he saw Mac working on his arm. "That bothering you?"

 

The younger man shrugged, wincing slightly at the motion. "A little. Must be the damp. Doc said it might act up every once in a while, it's nothing major."

 

Vic studied the other man for a brief second, than stood. "Wait here, I'll be back."

 

Half bemused, half turned on, Mac watched as Vic headed to the counter and engaged a different clerk in a conversation while he filled out a form and handed over his credit card. While watching the other man getting the directions to the cottage, Mac remembered something that brought a wide smile to his face - one that was still there when Vic returned.

 

"What's that all about?"

 

"Just thought of something I need to get from the car is all. Where's the room, I'll meet you there in five."

 

"Mac, you're going to get soaked if you go out there."

 

"So? I won't melt."

 

"Better not, I have plans for you, Ramsey," Vic said sternly, before handing over the second key card and directions to the small cottage.

 

"And I have plans for you too, Mansfield, don't you worry about that," Mac promised, pocketing the plastic card, then heading out into the rain on his mission.

 

Vic watched the younger man until he vanished in the rain, then shook his head and walked off in the other direction, intending to stay under cover as much as possible on the way to their room. "I will never understand that man, not if I live to be one hundred," he sighed, breaking into a run across the open area, then pulling up under the shallow overhang outside the wood trimmed cabin.

 

The key card deactivated the lock, and Vic opened the door to reveal a room furnished as comfortably as the lodge's lobby had been. A sofa and chair grouping surrounded a doublesided fireplace that also opened into the bedroom right across from the king sized bed. A side door led to the bathroom, complete with a deep whirlpool back and piles of thick towels. Another door gave access to a small deck on the water's edge - not that they would be going out there any time soon. All in all, Vic was pleased with the room - it had been pricey, but was worth it.

 

Especially if it's going to happen tonight. The thought sent a frisson of pleasure racing to the pit of his stomach and Vic swallowed hard, getting control of himself once more just before a decidedly soggy Mac opened the door and stepped inside.

 

"God," he laughed, setting his burden down and moving past Vic to head into the bathroom before shaking like a dog. "Maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all, I'm never gonna dry." The younger man grabbed a towel and began to blot himself off as much as possible, something that was made more difficult by the fact that by now Victor was leaning against the wall, laughing at him.

 

"You - you went out to the car to get our coats?" the ex-cop laughed, rubbing at his face to get a hold of himself once more as he bent to light the fire, coaxing it into life.

 

"Not the coats, asshole, took them to protect the stereo."

 

"Ahh," Vic nodded wisely, "but why did you want the stereo."

 

"Because." Mac looked over at Vic at that, his whole posture tensing up the slightest bit, "I wanted to dance with you."

 

"Oh." Vic didn't have a comeback for that. In fact, at the reminder of that once virtual dance they had shared online, his libido, which had cooled down some between the rain and the sight of his drenched partner, woke up again.

 

"See, wasn't such a stupid idea after all - if you want to I mean," Mac continued, the last offered almost hesitantly.

 

"I don't know, you're pretty wet and all..." Vic began, but stopped when he saw Mac's expression turn dejected. "Hey, just kidding, Ramsey - you know, like you like to do?" It suddenly struck the agent that he was in control of this situation. No matter who ended up doing what to whom later, Mac had handed him the power at this moment and what happened from now on was his decision.

 

Mac gave him a lopsided grin, then stepped out of his shoes, kicking them toward the corner of the bathroom. "Well, I could always strip if you don't want to get wet."

 

"You do that and we won't get that dance in."

 

"Don't tempt me..."

 

"Why not? You look pretty tempting like that. Those clothes don't leave much to the imagination when they get wet, you know."

 

"Not like those jeans you wear ever do," Mac responded with a grin as he passed Vic by, heading to the portable CD player and plugging it in, then turning it on. "So, we gonna dance or what?"

 

Vic pushed off the wall and walked toward the open area of the room, crossing his arms over his chest once he arrived at his destination. "Need music to dance, don't we?"

 

"Got that right here." Once he had the stereo set up, Mac stood, running a hand through his still damp hair, and crossed the few steps that separated him from Victor. "Shall we?"

 

The first notes of the song sounded, and Vic took that as his cue and moved forward, wrapping his arms around Mac and feeling the taller man's embrace close around his back at the same time. The song - God, it was the same one Mac had sent him over the computer. The same song that ghosted through his dreams, dreams that had evolved from CJ's amorphous presence and solidified into Mac's.

 

"You mind?" Mac asked quietly.

 

Vic shook his head and rested his head against the taller man's shoulder, feeling the heat of his skin coming through the damp clothes in waves. He felt Mac relax more at that, their bodies molding together as they swayed to the lyrics, neither one leading, both simply existing in the moment.

 

"Mac?" The song was nearing its end when Victor pulled back just enough to look up at his partner.

 

"Hmm?"

 

"Kiss me."

 

Mac's eyes, which had been closed, flew open at the request, and he groaned softly before doing as Vic asked. God he tasted good, like rainwater, and sex, and everything the former thief wanted or needed.

 

Vic felt the moment spin on and on, drawn out by the velvety sweep of the other man's tongue, the sharp press of his teeth and the firm pressure of his lips, lips that drank him down as if he was some sort of lifegiving force.

 

"Mac." This was whispered into the silence that followed the kiss. For once, the younger man seemed unable to speak, and Vic chuckled softly before he continued. "Time to get out of those wet clothes now."

 

"Thank god."

 

Mac's heartfelt tone drew another laugh from Victor, one that turned into a sensuous moan as he felt the other man's agile fingers begin to tug at his shirt, pulling it over his head, baring his chest to Mac's hungry gaze. Working together, they left a trail of damp cloth from one room to the other, then tumbled to the bed, arching together, both desperate for the culmination of the need that had been building so long between them.

 

"Fuck. So goddamn gorgeous, just looking at you gets to me," Mac rasped, rolling over Vic and staring down at him, mesmerized by the older man's emerald eyes and the sooty fringe of lashes that surrounded them. Vic was hard and hot under him, his cut, muscular body flexing up into Mac's weight, rubbing their cocks together in a tortuous manner.

 

"After all this build up you had better not just want to look at me," Vic growled, circling his hips purposefully. "'Cause I know what I want and it isn't that."

 

"What - fuck - what do you want, Victor?"

 

"That's exactly what I want. For you to fuck me."

 

"Uh-uh." Mac's negative response had Victor's eyes widening, but then he continued. "Not gonna fuck you this time, going to make love to you. There is a difference."

 

"I know that." For a moment, Vic sounded angry, then he relaxed once again. "And I like that you know that too."

 

"How can I not?" Mac accompanied the question with a rain of tiny, biting kisses across Vic's collar bones. "I know I... Have wanted to make love with you for a long time."

 

"As well as fuck me?" Vic asked, sliding his hands down to Mac's ass and running his fingers over the cleft between the tight cheeks.

 

"As well as that." The move drew another groan from the younger man, then he look up, wide-eyed, cursing fluently in several languages.

 

"What?"

 

"There's no - I didn't really come prepared for this you know."

 

Vic's curses joined with Macs at that point, then he remembered something. "Bathroom," he mumbled, sliding out from under Mac and walking as fast as he could toward the other room. Grabbing the complementary bottle of hand lotion, Vic headed back, tossing it to Mac, then diving for the bed again. Vic figured that both he and Mac were subjected to enough physicals that they were clean so the lack of condoms didn't matter.

 

"Always the boyscout," Mac laughed, grabbing Vic and kissing them both senseless before the other man could complain.

 

"You'll pay for that, Ramsey," Victor growled, bringing his hand between them to tweak one of his nipples, then running his fingers through the dark hair surrounding it.

 

"Am looking forward to that. I'm also looking forward to exploring every inch of you and having the favor returned but right now. God, I just ant to be in you." Mac arched into the slight pain, driving his cock against Vic's, the precum leaking from both of them making their skin slick.

 

"Then what are you waiting for? I got the lube, do I have to do the rest too?"

 

"Never realized you'd be such a pushy bottom, Mansfield," Mac laughed, the sound turning to a groan as Vic slid his hand down and took hold of his cock.

 

"Never realized you'd be such a slow top," Vic shot back with a grin that turned smoky as he stroked Mac's erection, feeling it jump in his hand.

 

"I'll show you slow." Pushing slowly backwards, Mac extricated himself from Vic's clutches as he opened the small bottle of lotion. Squirting some out on his fingers, he smoothed it around, then leaned in, urging Vic's legs apart as he began stretching the tight muscular ring between them.

 

Vic closed his eyes, his neck arching backward against the spread as he felt Mac's long fingers push deeper and deeper inside him. God, it had been too long, god he wanted more. The ex-cop made a small noise when a second finger was added and crooked to find the bump of his prostate.

 

"Enough already, Mac, please!" he begged, circling his hips hard against the limber invaders, wanting the burning pleasure of something larger, hotter inside him.

 

"You said you wanted slow," the younger man said tightly, even as he squirted out more lotion, this time stroking it over his cock. "Just doing what you wanted."

 

"I want you to fu - make love to me!" Vic howled. "How much more plainer can I be?"

 

Swallowing hard, Mac nodded, offering up a sultry version of his normal grin. "Whatever you want, Victor." With that, he slid his fingers out, placed the head of his erection against Vic's tight portal, and gradually pushed inside.

 

"Ma-ac." The sudden indrawn breath drew his partner's - no, his lover's - name out into two syllables and Vic's scrabbled frantically for something to hold onto as he was ignited from within by his possession.

 

Mac groaned out an answer as he sank into Victor's body, trapped in a heated sheath of searing velvet that he never wanted to leave. This burned all his fantasies away like the frail dreams they were, this was reality, this was Victor.

 

Together they found the perfect rhythm, one that drew them both to the edge, then held them there for countless heartbeats. Then, as if at some unspoken signal, their motions became more frantic, a hurtling race toward the ecstasy of oblivion that ended with hoarse shouts, clutching hands, and spasming bodies as both found their release.

 

"Mac?" Vic whispered after an eternity where they simply lay there, wrapped around each other, feeling the sweat drying on their bodies but too contented to move.

 

The younger man grunted out something that may have been a response and moved the tiniest bit.

 

Vic sighed and tried again, this time rubbing his lover's back as he spoke. "Mac, we need to move, at least enough to clean up, or we're going to be stuck this way come morning. Not that I mind, but you're the hairy one, and it might hurt when we do get up."

 

"Shit." Moving slowly, Mac pushed up and off Vic, then remained where he was, on his hands and knees. "Don't move," he rasped, opening his eyes to stare down at Vic. "Want to remember you like this, naked, relaxed." He leaned in and buried his face in Vic's neck. "Smelling like me."

 

Vic's low pitched moan followed Mac as he crawled backwards off the bed, vanishing into the bathroom to dampen a towel. On the way back, he stopped and hung up their clothes, hoping some of the wrinkles would fall out before tomorrow.

 

Seeing that the older man had done as he asked, Mac climbed back into the bed and tenderly, lovingly, bathed his body, kissing and tasting each area before swiping the towel over it.

 

"Mmm, keep that up and you're just going to end up doing it again later," Vic husked, arching upwards to follow the track of Mac's hand, the nap of the towel seeming rough after the sweep of the younger man's tongue.

 

"Was kind of hoping that would happen anyway," Mac murmured, flicking his tongue into Vic's navel, then cleaning himself up so that he could curl up against the other man, his whole body singing with contentment.

 

Vic shifted enough to wrap an arm around his lover, the whole scene having a sense of rightness that he found utterly compelling. "I'd say that was a sure bet, Ramsey. I fully intend to fu - make love to you later on."

 

Mac lifted his head enough to look down into Vic's eyes at that comment. "And then fuck me?"

 

"Oh yeah, no problem there," Vic rasped, leaning in to close his teeth around the ex-thief's full lower lip. "But I think we're going to have to eat something somewhere during all this."

 

"Could eat you," Mac offered, his words slightly distorted by the hold Vic had on his lip.

 

Vic let go at that, his verdant eyes darkening to forest shadows. "You're gonna get me going again, Ramsey."

 

"No problem there," Mac chuckled, pulling Vic on top of him and devoting himself to making sure that prediction came true.

 

Watching the two men leaving the lobby, Amy the desk clerk sighed mournfully. God, they had been so hot! Why couldn't guys like that live around here?

 

"Don't bother wasting your tears on them," one of the bell hops advised. Seeing her confused expression, the young man continued, grinning slightly. "Lets just say that what John saw when he took them their dinner goes to prove that what you girls say is true."

 

"What are you talking about?"

 

"Don't you always say that the pretty ones are always gay or taken? I'd say those two fall into both those categories."

 

Amy looked as if you could knock her over with a single tap at that revelation. "Those two? No way! They can't be!" she wailed, lowering her voice when the supervisor on duty glanced their way.

 

The bell hop smirked, enjoying her reaction. "John said the place was a wreck and that he'd obviously interrupted something considering the way he was hustled out of there."

 

"That doesn't prove anything."

 

"No, but the way the tall guy dragged the other one back into the bedroom sure does."

 

Wrinkling her nose at the image, Amy sighed. "You're right, that really stinks. Where are all the good men?"

 

"Well," the bell hop answered, leaning in closer, "I just happen to know one good one who's neither taken or gay..."

 

"I see that the two of you survived your little misadventure without too much hardship," the Director commented, glancing up at the pair of agents from her chair. The dark rimmed glasses gave her a stern, school-marmish demeanor but that certainly wasn't carried through to her clothes - skin tight silk that made it plain that nothing could fit underneath it.

 

"No, it wasn't too bad," Vic answered, biting the inside of his cheeks to keep from grinning foolishly.

 

"As you see, we managed to keep from killing each other," Mac added, avoiding looking at his partner.

 

"Well I'm pleased to hear that, I do worry about the two of you." She looked down at the report in front of her, then, as the two men turned to leave, called out. "By the way, boys, where's my coffee?"

 

"Shit!"


End file.
